Not What They Bargained For
by Twilight-Songstress
Summary: When Blaise learns that he's failing Charms, he takes Draco's joking suggestion seriously and seeks out Ginny Weasley as a tutor. Takes place during Deathly Hallows. D/G with slight B/G **Revised March 2011**
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: _Harry Potter _belongs to the brilliant JK Rowling, _not me_. This disclaimer applies for the entire story, since I'm not going to magically gain ownership of _Harry Potter _at any point in time. That would just be too awesome : )

_Chapter 1_

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zabini, but if you don't get a tutor, I'm afraid you're going to fail my class." The Slytherin's fist tightened around the test in his hand as he gazed down at the tiny professor.

"Isn't there another way, sir? Perhaps an extra assignment or something of that sort," Blaise suggested calmly, though he was silently berating himself. Usually he could manage_ at least _an Acceptable, but he had been a tad distraction from his Charms work the evening before the exam. _If only I hadn't stayed up playing cards that night..._ he thought wryly. A second later he found himself fighting down a satisfied smirk as he remembered how he had finally beaten that prat Nott at cards, but Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice quickly wiped that expression off his face.

"That wouldn't be fair to the other students." He paused at the look of mild irritation that appeared on the teenager's face. "I know you're more intelligent than these scores show, Mr. Zabini. I expect a passing grade from you next time."

"I understand, Professor," he replied tersely before grabbing his bag from the desk beside him and heading for the door. Thankfully, Charms had been the last class of the day, so he didn't need to worry about his foul mood disrupting his studies. The hallways were nearly empty as he followed the familiar path to the Great Hall, where most of the students were now eating their dinner. When he reached his destination, it only took him a moment to locate the strikingly blonde head that belonged to his fellow Slytherin, since the room was much less crowded than it had been in previous years, and he briskly made his way over to where his friend was dining.

As he swiftly sat down in his seat, Draco glanced at him in acknowledgement before returning to picking at the food on his plate. "What did Flitwick want?" he inquired as Blaise piled a plate with some chicken.

"Apparently I'm on the verge of failing his class and need to find a tutor," Blaise replied nonchalantly, gesturing to the paper beside his plate before a thought struck him. "Hey, Draco... You've been getting Outstandings on the Charms exams, haven't you?"

"I'm not helping you," he stated harshly, turning his head to face the other boy as he narrowed his eyes. "I told you to give it up when Nott beat you that sixth time, but you had to go and be a bloody moron and play another three games."

"I won though," Blaise noted smugly as he took a bite of chicken.

"Oh yes. How much was it you won again? Ten Galleons? Quite a prize compared to the eighty you lost in the other rounds," Draco murmured sarcastically as he returned his gaze to his fairly untouched plate. Blaise decided against reprimanding him for his poor eating habits – something that had developed during their sixth year – and instead turned his attention to the other occupants of the Great Hall as he thoughtfully chewed on his food. Many students had left, or were not allowed to return in the Muggle-borns' cases, and it was noticeable in the behavior of the remaining students. Some people sulked at the loss of their friends, while others who were more like his own housemates took advantage of the darker air around the school to make their enemies as miserable as possible. This plan was reinforced by their new Professors, the Carrows, and their newly-appointed Headmaster, Severus Snape. Blaise pushed the thoughts from his mind as he focused on the daunting task of finding an adequate tutor.

Scanning the room, his eyes focused on boy with neatly combed hair and a Hufflepuff emblem on his robe. _Ernie Macmillan; a pureblood. It's a shame he's such a pompous git. _Blaise moved on to the boy sitting beside Ernie. _Zacharias Smith... Annoying as hell, that one. _His eyes eventually moved to the rest of his own table. Out of the seventh years, Draco and Theodore Nott managed the best grades, but Draco had already refused while Nott would just lord it over him rather than actually help. With a sigh, he moved on to the Ravenclaws, a group who prided themselves on their superior intellect. _Perhaps Mandy Brocklehurst would make a good tutor,_ he contemplated as he studied a girl with deep auburn hair and bright a second thought, he decided against the idea, as he preferred to have an edge over anyone he associated with and knew absolutely nothing about her other than her name.

"What do you know about Stephan Cornfoot?" Blaise wondered as his eyes fell on the bespectacled Ravenclaw.

Draco glanced at the boy in question before saying, "Are you thinking about having him tutor you?" The dark-skinned boy nodded. "He bright from what I've heard, but completely lacks any social aptitude," he continued disdainfully.

"So he's quiet?" Blaise clarified with amusement.

"Yeah, you could say that." The boy rolled his eyes as the blonde returned to his meal. His eyes began wandering the hall once more before darting to the Gryffindor table, where a pretty girl with slightly tanned skin and raven hair was standing up with Seamus Finnigan.

"Hey, what about Katrae?" he mused aloud, causing his friend to let out a quiet snort.

"The only reason she isn't failing as well is because Esteed practically walked her through the class. Now that the Mudblood's gone, her scores are already slipping." Blaise let out a heavy sigh as he rested his chin in his hand pensively.

"Who the hell am I going to get to tutor me?"

"Well, with the people you've been thinking about, I'm not surprised you haven't found anyone," Draco scoffed. "Who are you going to ask me about next? The Weaslette perhaps? Now _that_ would be amusing..." He put down his fork when he noticed that his friend had gathered his things and was now rising from his seat. "Where are you running off to?"

Blaise looked down with a mischievous grin. "To tell Weasley that she's gonna be my Charms tutor." Draco's eyes widened a fraction as he glanced towards the door where Ginny Weasley was indeed leaving the Great Hall.

"Are you out of your mind?" he spat, keeping his voice down to avoid drawing attention. "How could you possibly think I was being serious?"

"Hey, you've seen first-hand how terrifying her Bat-Bogey Hex is. A Weaslette she may be, but she's not stupid." Draco exhaled with exasperation as he looked away and the other boy took the opportunity to follow the red-head out of the room. She was walking rather slowly, which gave him more than enough time to catch up with his long strides. "Oi, Weasley!" Ginny spun around, her brow knit with confusion as her hand reflexively slipped inside the pocket that undoubtedly held her wand. When she processed who was calling her, Blaise was the target of a very heated glare.

"What do you want, Zabini?" she demanded, her wand now drawn from her robes and held protectively in front of her. He raised his hands in defense, showing that he held no weapon of his own.

"Just to have a little chat, if that isn't too much trouble." Her glare was reduced to a skeptical gaze as her wand hand dropped slightly.

"…About what?" The curiosity in the girl's voice was obvious behind the hostility, and Blaise took a few steps forward.

"From what I hear, you're fairly good at Charms. Maybeeven on a seventh year's level..."

"Yeah... What are you getting at?" Ginny stood her ground as he moved even closer, despite the nervous feeling she was getting in her stomach. There was something unsettling about his grin, or maybe it was just the fact that it was on a Slytherin's face.

"Well, it just so happens I'm not fairing nearly as well as you are in that class, and Flitwick has _strongly_ recommended that I find a tutor."

The expression of sheer disbelief that appeared on her face forced Blaise to stifle a chortle. After a moment, she managed to blurt out, "Wait, you want _me_ to tutor you?"

"That _is_ what I was implying," he replied lazily, the corners of his lips curving up slightly. Her astonishment soon vanished as she gripped her wand tighter.

"You're dreaming, Zabini," she muttered before turning away from him. Blaise was momentarily surprised by her rejection — though he supposed it made sense — before he continued after her.

"What would it hurt? You could get a head start on the advanced material," he noted.

"I said '_no_,'" she retorted sharply. "Now _sod off_ before I feel the need to hex you." Unfortunately, Blaise was quite a bit taller than her and easily caught up with his longer legs.

"Come on, Weasley. I need a tutor," he persisted, grabbing her shoulder. She shot a dark look over her shoulder before jerking out of his grasp.

"Then find someone else," Ginny snapped before rushing around the corner. Once the bottom of her robes had swished out of sight, Blaise let out a frustrated sigh and began to head to the Slytherin Common Room.

* * *

Two days had passed since the incident with Ginny, and Blaise still hadn't found a tutor. A few more people had turned him down: Susan Bones didn't want anything to do with him and Goldstein had claimed he was too busy. Even Tracey Davis from his own House had said no, and he had been sure she fancied him. So after being denied by the fourth person that day, Blaise was trudging rather sullenly back to his Common Room when he saw the Muggle Studies classroom door cracked open. It was only a small sliver, and he figured the teacher could have just forgotten to close it, but Professor Carrow didn't seem like the type to leave her door unlocked for any student to wander in.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he decided to see what was going on and went over to the door left ajar. Widening the gap, he peeked in only to be greeted by an empty room. Feeling a tad disappointed that the situation was so innocent, Blaise was about to leave when he heard a shuffling coming from the professor's desk. It was only then that he noticed a head topped with deep red hair. _This just got so much more interesting…_

Just as he opened his mouth with a taunting remark on the tip of his tongue, the sound of shuffling feet in the hallway caught his attention. Hearing the quiet mutterings of a familiar female voice behind him, he quickly formed a plan in his head before stepping into the classroom. "Weasley! Get up!" he ordered in a hushed tone, and said girl promptly banged her head on the bottom of the desk with surprise. When she let out a moan of pain, he snarkily added, "Keep it down, will you?"

"Zabini? What are you doing here?" she asked, her head popping over the edge of the desk. The tone of alarm in her voice was not missed. Moving swiftly, he went behind the desk and pulled her to her feet. "What the bloody hell are you-?"

"Play along," he hissed, clasping the front of her robes and shoving her against the desk. Blaise had just enough time to grab his wand from his pocket and place it against her throat before the door burst open to reveal the squat form of Alecto Carrow with a furious look on her face. Ginny just stood gob smacked while Blaise tried to muster the most menacing looking sneer he could.

"Just teaching the Weaslette here a lesson, Professor," he informed her scornfully, shoving the Gryffindor roughly aside. She slammed into the chair with a wince, but remained silent. He realized there were some obvious gaps in his story, but with any luck, the Professor wouldn't notice. Thankfully, her face twisted into an almost pleased expression.

"Fine. Just make sure you don't mess anything up," the female Carrow said snidely before leaving. Blaise was about to turn to the girl when he felt a shoe smash into his shin. Biting his tongue to muffle a cry of pain, he glared at her with mild frustration.

"That hurt, you git!" she exclaimed, rubbing her tender side.

"I _help_ you and that's how you repay me?" His anger had already dissipated for the most part and he was now watching her with amusement. Her face was a bright red (whether it was from embarrassment or her temper, he couldn't tell), which only caused her freckles to stand out even more. Her hair was also askew from fumbling under the desk. Blaise couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh at her appearance.

"What are you laughing at?" she growled, leaning down to pick up her wand, which had fallen from her hand when he jostled her.

"You look ridiculous," he commented with a wide grin. Her lips tightened to a thin line, but she merely pushed past him and made for the door. "Hey, you owe me now!" he called after her. _She's a Gryffindor... They can't bail on someone who's helped them,_ Blaise reasoned and sure enough, her shoulders slumped before she rotated slightly.

"Tutoring then, is it?" she responded tiredly. He could visibly see her cringe as he nodded. "Fine. Meet me in the library at noon on Saturday. If you're late, you can just forget about it."

He followed her out into the hall and, just to piss her off even more, he impishly replied, "It's a date then."

Ginny pause in her step and faced him. "Don't push it," she advised hotly before continuing down the hall. He smiled happily as he turned and ambled along in the opposite direction as the Gryffindor. Things were certainly going to be interesting.

* * *

A/N - Well, please review! I'd love to hear what you guys liked or didn't like and anything else you have to say. Comments are always greatly appreciated : )

-Twilight-Songstress


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

The rest of the week went by fairly quickly for Ginny Weasley. With the exception of the incident with Zabini, things had gone smoothly. Professor Carrow hadn't been suspicious at all and she had passed all of her tests with ease. In fact, Ginny had almost forgotten about the impending headache that was a tutoring session with a Slytherin until the night beforehand and even then, the thought didn't phase her unusually high spirits too much. With the trio gone, things were pretty quiet in the Common Room and she often found herself immersed in her studies just to keep away the boredom. Even her good friend Colin Creevey was absent, and her ex-boyfriend Dean Thomas was no where to be found. In some ways, she looked at this new development with Blaise Zabini as a welcomed break in her relatively uneventful life.

It wasn't till she was on her way to the library that she began to regret her decision. Willingly dealing with a Slytherin would be considered absurd by most of the student population, especially with the state of the school at the moment. The fact that she was helping one with their academics would surely not go unnoticed. _Maybe I should've just let him turn me in... _she thought bitterly as she entered the library.

The large room was crowded — it was a Saturday after all, and students would be getting their work done early so they could enjoy a bit of afternoon sun. However, she was unable to find the young man she was supposed to be tutoring. Feeling her Weasley temper quickly heat up, she stalked over to a nearly empty table and tossed her bag on the smooth surface before plopping down in one of the chairs. With clenched teeth, she rested her cheek on the palm of her hand and began to drum her fingers on the wood as she waited for Zabini to show up. A few minutes later, she heard someone clear their throat from beside her. Glancing up, she saw the Slytherin standing above her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're late," she snapped, sitting up in her chair. To her surprise, he responded with that grin of his.

"I believe that's my stuff on the table next to you," he noted with a small gesture towards the bag and pile of books in front of the chair beside her. "I've been here for nearly half an hour." She opened her mouth to retort, but found herself lacking a witty comment and simply closed it. Blaise said nothing as he slid into his chair.

"So, what do you have planned, Weaslette?" The book Ginny was taking out of her bag made a loud thud on the table.

"If I'm helping you with this, you are not going to call me that," she stated evenly, opening the Seventh year Charms book she had borrowed from Seamus and flipping through the pages.

He chuckled, and Ginny mused that the action didn't seem so foreign to this particular Slytherin. "What do you want me to call you them?"

"Oh, the general 'Weasley' is fine," she answered, glancing up from the book to meet his eyes before returning to the text. "As long as you don't say it with that awful sneer like Malfoy does."

Blaise laughed again, and she could, regrettably, feel herself fighting back a small smile as he did so. "I always tell him he needs to stop doing that. It's not intimidating all." This time, her lips did quirk at the corners.

"Especially after he got turned into a ferret. Merlin, I'll never forget that."

"Or that time you hit him with that _brilliant _Bat Bogey Hex," he recalled, grinning widely as he leaned back in his seat. The red-head felt her cheeks warm slightly at the compliment. "It still bugs the hell out of him when I bring that up."

"Well, the prat deserved it," she muttered before turning the page once more and stopping. After glancing over the information, she looked up with a questioning expression. "Professor Flitwick hasn't covered shield charms yet, has he?"

The Slytherin almost seemed sad that the focus had so quickly diverted back to Charms. "We're supposed to be getting around to it next week."

"Then I'm sure he'll be very impressed if you already know it," Ginny replied brightly. "Of course, the definition is pretty simple. It-"

"Creates a magical barrier of some sort that deflects hexes," he interrupted lazily. "I don't have a problem with the theoretical stuff. It's the practical portion that gets me."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" she sighed with mild exasperation, rising from her chair as she stuffed the book back in her bag.

"Where do you think you're going? We had an agreement," Blaise reminded her.

"We can't exactly practice in here. Madam Pince would have a fit." His mouth broke into an amused smile.

"And why is that a problem?"  
Ginny frowned at the lofty tone of his voice before slinging her bag over her shoulder. "As entertaining as it may be to you, I don't want to spend my weekend in detention."

"That _would_ put a damper on things, wouldn't it?" He also packed up his stuff and stood. "Where are we going?"

"The grounds."

"Why there?"

She sighed once more. "Why do you think, Zabini?" Ginny replied sharply. When he didn't answer, she continued. "I figure it's the best spot for you to get in some practice," she explained in a hushed tone as they made their way to the exit. "It's not like we can practice in the halls, and I don't think the Death Eater scum infesting the place will be happy if they find us in one of the classrooms."

Blaise let out a snort as they came out into the hallway. "'Death Eater scum?' Not exactly something you should say around a _Slytherin_." A momentary look of realization dawned on her face before covered it with a small cough as she brushed a lock of hair off her face.

"Oh please, like _you _could be a Death Eater."

"What makes you so sure?" he said teasingly. Suddenly, she came to an abrupt halt and reached out to grab his left hand. When she lifted up his sleeve, she grinned smugly.

"No mark," she stated with satisfaction before releasing his hand and continued to walk down the corridor. With a look of surprise at her action still plastered on his face, Blaise caught up to the younger girl.

"What makes you think you can get away with doing something like that?" he demanded, though his voice lacked any obvious annoyance. If anything, he was a tad taken-aback by her daring.

Ginny paused and faced him, meeting his deep brown eyes with her chocolate ones. "What are you gonna do? Hex me in the middle of the hall?" After a moment, he looked away with an irritated huff, which only caused her to let out a dry chuckle as she started towards the grounds once more. "Who am I kidding? You're not the type to do that anyway..."

This time, a smirk quickly appeared on his face. "'Not the type,' am I?"  
"You may act like you are, but, as much as it pains me to say it, I don't think you're really like that," she answered smoothly, glancing over at him. He shrugged in response, though the expression in his eyes was one of clear amusement. They continued the rest of the way in silence until they came to the lake, where Ginny promptly dumped her bag under a large tree before scanning the area. There were a few students lounging around, not nearly as many as there were before, but enough to maintain consistent chatter. She returned her gaze to her momentary pupil, who had also put his stuff at the base of the tree and had removed his robe to reveal the typical black trousers and crisp, white shirt.

"So, where do we start?" he wondered, rolling up his sleeves to the elbow before pulling his wand out of back pocket.

"Well, the incantation is 'Protego.'" He opened his mouth to interject, but she beat him to the chase. "As I'm sure you already know. The tricky part is in the wand movement." Ginny demonstrated with a few quick flicks of her wrist before murmuring, "_Protego_."

He studied her quizzically for a moment before saying, "...Is that it?"

"Yup."

The boy continued to gaze at her a bit longer. "There's no visible effect?"

Ginny let out a soft sigh. "I can't believe I'm about to say this to a _Slytherin_," she raised her open arms slightly, "but go ahead and hex me." She regretted the words as soon as his irritating smirk was revived on his face.

"If you say so..." Blaise raised his wand before clearing shouting, "_Locomotor Mortis_!" He waited a second for her legs to lock together, which would undoubtedly lead to her falling flat on her face, but the curse simply bounced off. "...It actually worked?" he asked incredulously, a tone that caused a look of offense to appear on the girl's face.

"I'm not the top in my class for nothing."

"I guess I didn't give you enough credit, Weaslette." The Gryffindor scowled at the name, but he just ignored her and grinned. "That's Seventh year material. You must be one hell of a student." She was secretly appreciative of his comment, but the emotion didn't make it to her face.

"Now you give it a go," she instructed, but judging from the look on his face he hadn't really been paying attention when she showed him the wand movements. Stepping forward, she grabbed his hand. "This is how you do it," she sighed before leading his hand in the action of casting the spell. Then she dropped his hand and sent him an expectant glance.

"What? You expect me to just to pick it up like that?"

"Just go ahead and try it," Ginny muttered. He could tell her patience was running thin, so he just raised his wand and attempted to duplicate her movements before saying the incantation.

"Now what?"

With a nonchalant air and a wave of her hand, she said, "Time to test-" Before she could finish, she was cut off by Blaise bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Zabini..." She walked over and gently whacked him over the head, but he just doubled over, consumed by his hysterical chortling. "Hey! What's wrong with you?"

Between guffaws, he managed to gasp out, "Dra-," another laugh, "-co." With startled eyes, she looked up to see Malfoy standing a little ways a way, his lips forming his trademark smirk.

Concluding that he had cast 'Rictusempra,' Ginny pointed her wand at Blaise and quietly said, "_Finite_." He stopped mid-laugh, but stayed slightly bent at the waist with his hand over his stomach as he drew in deep breathes. Malfoy sauntered over to the pair, only to be greeted by a rough shove from his fellow Slytherin.

"That wasn't fair, you git!"

"It's not _my_ fault you cast the spell wrong," Malfoy pointed out with a grin. Blaise opened his mouth to protest, but Ginny cut him off.

"Unfortunately, Malfoy's right," she admitted tiredly. "Your wand movement was off." Blaise could only glare as his friend sent him a superior look.

"Perhaps you should find a better tutor, Blaise. She's clearly not teaching you well enough," the Slytherin drawled with a glance towards the youngest Weasley. She knew he was trying to bait her, but she still couldn't stop her temper from flaring.

"Or maybe you're just annoyed that a _Sixth year _is better at Charms than you?" she countered icily. Malfoy laughed — actually _laughed_ — and Ginny's jaw nearly dropped in shock.

"I seriously doubt that." He was amused, and that fact that she was the source of his entertainment pissed her off more than anything.

"Then why aren't you tutoring him?" she spat.

"Hey! Why do you make it sound like a bad thing?" Blaise exclaimed with a frown.

A small huff escaped her lips before Ginny spun on her heel and walking back to the tree she had dropped her stuff at. Pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder, she began retracing her steps towards the castle. When she passed the Slytherin duo, she evenly stated, "Practice the spell tonight, Zabini. If you don't have it down by tomorrow, then this deal we have is over." And with that, she briskly headed for the school's entrance.

Blaise sighed before crossing his arms over his chest. "Thanks a lot," he mumbled as he passed his friend to get to his belongings.

"Hey, it's not my fault," Draco objected. "You're going to be in for quite a tough time though, mate... That's not an easy spell."

"That's what you think. It's you're fault she left," he mentioned, turning towards the school as a grin appeared on his face. "So you're going to help me."

* * *

A/N - As always, reviews totally make my day : ) So if you have anything you like/dislike, suggestions about how I can improve, or just something you want to say, I'd love to hear it! Also, I'll be starting another of my original fiction stories soon, so updates may be a little delayed, but I'll still try to post new chapters at least twice a month. I hope you all are enjoying the story!

-Twilight-Songstress


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

"_Petrificus Totalis_." To Ginny's immense surprise, the spell bounced right off, and the boy in front of her couldn't have looked more proud of himself. Of course, this emotion of his was communicated with a _very_ irritating smirk.

"So..." He crossed his arms arrogantly. "Do I get a reward of some sort? A date perhaps?" The girl grimaced at the suggestion.

"You can't be serious."

"What?" Blaise's voice took on a playful tone. "I mean, you're not _completely _unbearable to look at," he mused.

She sighed. "Do you have to be such a prat?" Ginny wondered with the corners of her lips turned up ever so slightly.

"Can't help it," he admitted with a wide grin. "It's in my nature."

"Of course," she mumbled as she rolled her eyes before plopping down at the base of a large tree. He sat down beside her, stretching his long legs out in front of himself as he leaned back on his palms. The fact that he was so relaxed in her presence unnerved her to say the least — she had to constantly remind herself that this was a _Slytherin _lounging next to her and that she _should_ be on guard at all times.

His next question interrupted her thoughts. "What else have you got for me?" She mentally cursed. When Ginny had told him that morning in the Great Hall to meet her by the lake after breakfast, she'd never actually expected him to be able to cast the spell. As a result of that belief, she hadn't planned anything to teach him that day.

"...What other spells are you supposed to be learning next week?" she inquired slowly after a moment. The knowing look in Blaise's eyes told her that he was aware of the fact that she was unprepared, but he thankfully didn't voice this.

"Well, we're supposed to be studying Disillusionment charms—"

"We'll work on that then, okay?" she replied brightly. He let out a warm chuckle.

"You didn't let me finish. We're supposed to be studying Disillusionment charms," Blaise repeated with amusement, "but not until the week after next, and I don't think we should jump that far ahead."

Ginny frowned as she racked her brain for something else to teach him. Of course, there were numerous charms that were in the Seventh year curriculum that Professor Flitwick had yet to teach, but, like he had just said, it would be better to help him with stuff he was learning at the moment. "What spells were you having trouble with before?"

"Well, I need some help with Locomotion charms," he casually mentioned, but there was a mild tone of chagrin in his voice that she could just barely detect.

"What? Having trouble admitting that you need help with something, Zabini? And from a Gryffindor no less," Ginny taunted, half expecting him to respond with an angry comment about her appearance or her family or any of the other things his House-mates usually picked. But then again, he kept on surprising her and this time was no different.

"Hey, you don't have to be so mean about it," he laughed, leaning over to push her. She avoided it by jumping up before sticking her tongue out at him.

"Missed me," she sang before offering him her hand with a bright smile. "Now let's get to work, shall we?"

Blaise laughed again before taking her hand. "Yeah, but first..." She let out a loud yelp as he pulled her back down to the ground with a jerk. "That's for making fun of me," he declared airily, though there was mirth laced in his voice as well. Ginny rolled over on her back and glared up at the now standing boy.

"That wasn't very fair!" she exclaimed, raising a hand to block the morning sun from her eyes.

"You should keep your guard up," he shrugged, and she grudgingly agreed, though she didn't say it out loud. He grabbed her hand and hoisted her to her feet. "Now, I think that's enough playing around, Ginny. You're supposed to be helping, not distracting me."

"I know, I know," she sighed before taking her wand out of her pocket, neither of them noticing how easily her name came to his lips.

* * *

So the tutoring sessions continued in much the same manner during the rest of the week. The two would start out focused (well, Ginny would, but she wasn't so sure about Blaise) and work on the material, but by the end of the sixty minutes their meetings generally lasted, at least half of it would be spent shooting playful insults at each other or just goofing off.

Before they knew it, it was the end of the week and Ginny had just finished aiding Blaise with a few simple Scouring charms that he hadn't been able to cast properly. Since it was already after dinner, and therefore too dark to get anything done at their usual outdoor meeting spot, they had decided to go to the most remote classroom they could find and just hope that they wouldn't get caught.

"Okay, one more time," she instructed, knocking over a small inkpot.

"But I've already cast it properly four times. I think that's enough," Blaise argued wearily. When she placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes slightly, he threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine. _Scourgify._" The ink that was leaking all over the table promptly disappeared and he sent her a questioning glance. "Is that good enough for you?"

"Yes, you did very well," she praised, hopping up onto the desk he had just cleaned.

"Good to hear," he grinned, sitting on the wood table opposite her. "You know, Flitwick actually complimented me yesterday," he mentioned as he watch her swing her legs back and forth. "You should've seen the look on his face when I cast _Protego_ correctly."

Ginny giggled as she pictured Professor Flitwick gaping with surprise. "I've been wondering..." she started after a second. "How did you learn that so quickly? You were pretty hopeless when I left you that day."

"Actually, Draco helped me with it." She turned to him, shocked.

"He did?" The boy nodded his head as he tried not to burst out laughing at her expression. "Then why am I tutoring you?"

"Don't tell him this, but you're a much better tutor." Blaise leaned back and rested his head on his folded arms, his legs dangling off the side of the desk as he tilted his head towards her. "He gets annoyed when I don't pay attention."

"And I don't?" she clarified with a raise eyebrow and her lips quirked.

"Well, let me rephrase that," he laughed. "Draco just gives up when I stop listening, but you get me back on track. It took him nearly three hours to teach me that one spell."

"I just can't believe he willingly helped you."

"Yeah... I think he felt a bit guilty for causing you to leave," Blaise reasoned, before smiling. "Not that he would admit that."

Ginny mimicked the gesture before sliding off the desk. "Well, I need to head back to the Common Room. I've got some DADA homework that isn't done yet." He noticed the way her nose wrinkled slightly as she mentioned the subject and sat up.

"Don't you mean Dark Arts?" he replied with a smirk. Her face scrunched up again.

"I can't believe they're teaching us that stuff. Not to mention most of it is unfamiliar material..."

"Need some help with it?" She sent him a curious look. "Hey, I'm a Slytherin." He shrugged. "We know most of those spells."

Ginny crossed her arms and gazed at him skeptically. "Why are you offering?"

"It's the least I can do for you helping me out." She opened her mouth to respond, but he continued. "You can forget about the whole incident with Carrow. I wasn't planning on telling anyway." She frowned and stared at the floor in thought as she considered his offer. "But just out of curiosity, what _were _you doing in there?"

"Oh, I was planting a dung bomb under her desk before you came in," she told him nonchalantly, her gaze unwavering as she continued to mule over the proposal. After a minute, she met his eyes. "I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea..."

"Brilliant. Then do you want to meet after classes tomorrow?"

"By the lake?" He nodded. "I guess I'll see ya then," she piped with a wide smile before slipping out the door.

* * *

Unfortunately, they woke up the next morning to a relentless rain — bordering on sleet — that continued even after their last class of the day. Since the halls were still heavily populated, making it difficult to sneak into an empty classroom without being seen, they decided to just meet in the library. Of course, this meant that Blaise wouldn't be able to practice working on Disillusionment charms, but they had found something else to keep them busy.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_," Ginny murmured under her breath, levitating a Potions book that belonged to a young Ravenclaw a few tables away. The boy looked up suddenly and she quickly dropped the spell. An alarmed looked crossed his face before he reached out to catch it just before it hit the table, thereby preventing the echoing thud that would have undeniably attracted the strict librarian. Blaise had to stifle a laugh as the Ravenclaw scanned the area with a frightened expression, while Ginny hid her smile behind a book.

"You shouldn't be doing that, you know," Blaise scolded half-heartedly once the boy had cautiously returned to his studies. "The poor kid looked like he was about to wet himself."

"_You _were the one who started it, Zabini," she retorted, glancing back down at the paper she was supposed to be writing for Dark Arts. Her companion had been helping her before he proposed the more interesting activity of levitating people's possessions.

"Touché," he said with a nod. Suddenly a mischievous glint flashed through his dark eyes. "Care to make things a bit more interesting?"

"...What are you suggesting?" she asked hesitantly.

"Just a little contest," he shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "I can understand if you're too scared to do it."

"Fine," she grumbled, and Blaise fought back a smirk. She was the same as Draco — all you had to do was make a jibe at their pride and they'd agree to virtually anything. "But if I win, you have to help me prank the Carrows, which includes taking part of the blame if we get caught."

"And if _I _win, as I'm sure the case will be," he grinned at her frown, "then you have to call me by my first name." Ignoring the confused looked that crossed her face at his odd request, he added, "Oh, and you have to accompany me on a little trip to the kitchens after curfew. Just to make the prizes a bit more even."

"All right... So what's the competition?"

"We'll take turns levitating people's stuff. Whoever gets caught first loses," he explained casually. "Simple enough for you?"

"Of course." She rolled her eyes as she raised her wand once again. Her target this time was a piece of parchment belonging to Stephen Cornfoot, since he was too busy quietly chatting with the Gryffindor girl beside him to notice. "Your turn," she prompted after the item had settled back on the table. Blaise lazily said the spell and made a Hufflepuff girl's quill whiz around the table. He placed it back where it was a moment later before the confused girl could locate who the caster was. They continued in the same manner for a good amount of time before Blaise decided to cause a bit of trouble.

Ginny was toying with a large tome when he interrupted her by saying, "Hey, Weaslette. Madam Pince is coming." She turned to him immediately, her eyes slightly widened.

"What?" She realized only after a tremendous bang echoed throughout the library that the spell had faltered and the text was sent crashing to the table.

"Weasley!" Madam Pince's screeching voice rang out, causing Ginny to noticeably flinch. "No casting spells in the library!"

"Sorry," she replied feebly as the woman reminiscent of a vulture shot a stern look in her direction before returning to reshelving some books.

Blaise was soon met with a piercing glare as a fuming Ginny hissed, "You cheated!"

"Ah, but there was never a rule against speaking to your opponent," he noted loftily, smirk in place. "So technically, I did nothing wrong."

"Zabini, you-" she growled before being cut off by him tutting.

"Remember our agreement," he said with a grin. Her eyes narrowed dangerously once more.

"Fine, _Blaise_, you cheating git," she snapped before taking a deep breath and picking up the quill laying next to her Dark Arts paper. "Now, didn't you say you were going to help me with this essay?" she continued tersely.

Glad for the opportunity to change the subject — and to avoid making Ginny any more livid — he smiled. "Yeah. Let me see what you have so far..."

* * *

That night, Blaise returned to the Common Room early because of the pounding headache the rainy atmosphere had given him. Thankfully, nearly all of the Slytherins were at supper, with the exception of a few stragglers, which left the area nice and quiet. After trudging along the dim hallway that led to the Seventh year boys' dormitories and opening the door, he wasn't surprised to find Draco lounging on a bed with a book propped up on his stomach.

"What are you doing here?" he wondered, his eyes darting to the new occupant of the room for only a brief moment before returning to his book.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Blaise quipped with a slight grin as he tossed his bag on the floor next to his bed. "I've got a headache, so I'm skipping out on dinner," he continued. "I'll just pick up something from the kitchens later."

"Get me something too when you go."

He ignored the order and flopped down on his bed. "Why aren't you at dinner?"

"I didn't feel like going." Blaise let out an exasperated sigh at his friend's vague answers before lying back on the green comforter, folding his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "Did you come from meeting with the Weaslette?"

"Yeah."

"She seemed pretty pissed off in the library earlier," Draco continued. "I was sure she was going to hex you."

Blaise's eyes widened as he tilted his head to look at the blonde boy. "You were there?"

"No, someone just happened to tell me about it," he responded sarcastically, lowering his book and turning to the other boy. "Of course I was there. Where do you think I got this book from?"

"Good point," he agreed before sitting up with a chuckle. "She was pretty mad wasn't she?"

"I don't know why you put up with her," Draco mumbled, shaking his head.

"You're just jealous because I've been spending so much time with a girl," he teased. "A very _attractive _girl, at that."

The blonde scoffed. "Like anyone actually finds that filthy Muggle-lover _attractive_," he drawled in the same way Blaise had. "Not to mention her temper is just as awful as that garish red hair of hers."

"Hey, she's not that bad," he frowned. "Maybe if you actually got to know her, you'd see that she's nothing like her moronic brother." Draco raised his eyebrow, a gesture that was accompanied by an amused twitch of his lips. "Well... except for the temper and red hair," Blaise admitted with a grin.

Draco chuckled before returning to his book, seeming to be in a bit better mood than before. "I think I'll just take your word for it."

* * *

A/N - As always, I really appreciate reviews : ) The next chapter should be up in about a week and a half, and I promise you'll see more of Malfoy then. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

-Twilight-Songstress


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

A few days after their contest in the library, Ginny was leaning back against the large tree by the lake as she waited for Blaise. A chilly winter breeze toyed with her hair and she reflexively pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, silently wishing spring would come a little faster. Just as she was beginning to grow impatient, she saw the Slytherin briskly walking towards her, a wide grin plastered on his face.

She naturally returned the expression. "What are you so happy about?" she wondered teasingly. He didn't answer, but instead stopped directly in front of her and dropped his bag on the grass, his lips still curled in a smile. When she opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, the words were abruptly cut off by a yelp as he swept her up into a warm hug, her feet rising off the ground. "Blaise! Put me down!" she cried, trying to sound angry, but betrayed by the laughter that crept into her voice. He spun her around once before placing her back on her feet.

"What was that-?"

"I passed my exam!" he blurted out with poorly contained excitement. Her face lit up almost immediately.

"You did?" His head bobbed up and down. "That's brilliant!" she continued with a smile. "What was your score?"

"An Acceptable," he shrugged, though his attitude was still elated. "Could be better, but it's still passing."

"Well, we'll just have to make sure you get an Exceeds Expectations next time, won't we?" Ginny quipped brightly. "What d'ya want to work on?"

"Nothing."

She rolled her eyes. "You and I both know that, but if you want to keep improving-"  
"That's not what I meant," he chuckled, picking up his own bag before reaching down to grab hers. Slinging it over his shoulder, he clarified, "I don't want to study anything today. We should do something to celebrate."

"What are you planning?" she inquired as her lips quirked at the corners, the already setting sun lighting up her curious brown eyes.

His lips formed a broad smile. "Well, it nearly dinner time…"

"A good observation," she nodded with a growing smirk, just waiting for him to get to the point.

"So, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me on a little picnic." Her eyes widened a fraction with surprised before they glinted mischievously.

"Why, Blaise, that sounds quite romantic," she teased. "Just imagine what people will say about us."

"Oh, I don't think it'd be that remarkable," he replied, a slightly amused undertone to his voice. "After all, it's not so unusual for two incredibly good-looking people to be attracted to each other." He glanced at her and grinned when he saw a faint pink on her cheeks. She tried to hide the blush by quickly turning away.

"Well, I guess it'd be all right then," she uttered, turning back to face him. However, the smile that had been on her lips a moment before was replaced with a look of confusion when she saw the picnic basket in his hand. "...Where did that come from?"

"The kitchens..."

A soft laugh escaped her lips as she replied with, "You didn't have it before."

"Well, there's this thing called _magic _that I'm sure you've heard about," Blaise explained facetiously, twirling his wand with a grin. She gave him a playful push, which only caused him to chortle. "So, I don't know about you, but I'm famished."

"Are we setting up here then?"

"Nope. The view is much better if you head up the hill a little," he answered cheerfully as he pointed to a spot closer to the castle.

"View of what?" she wondered with a furrowed brow as they began walking. He glanced back over his shoulder with a smile.

"The sunset, the grounds in general. Take your pick." Once they had reached the designated spot, Blaise dropped his bag and plopped down on the soft grass. She situated herself beside him as he pulled out a plate and handed it to her. When he saw the pensive expression on her face, he asked, "What're you thinking about?"

"Why are you being so nice?" she responded bluntly. He stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Hey, I'm serious!"

"Is that _really _what's bothering you?" he drawled, skeptical.

"Yes! It's... weird," Ginny explained lamely, glancing away. "I can't figure you out."

"Well, I don't really understand you either." He finished putting some food on his plate before taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully. After swallowing, he added, "Does it really matter?"

A dissatisfied frown made its way to her lips. "Doesn't it? I mean, when it all comes down to it, you're a Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor."

"And your point is…?"

After gazing at him for a moment with an unreadable emotion in her eyes, she murmured, "Whose side are you on?"

He was befuddled to say the least. "Pardon?"

"...The war against Voldemort." Ginny diverted her eyes to the rich colors that decorated the sky, determined not to look at the boy beside her. "I know you're friends with Malfoy, and after what he did last year..."

Blaise exhaled wearily, placing his dish down on the picnic basket and turning to face her. "You can just say it you know," he said monotonously, a tone that she promptly decided he should never use again. "I think it's obvious you don't trust me."

"It's not that," she insisted, slightly startled by his words.

"Then what is it?"

She bit her lip as she tried to think of a good way to phrase it. "I just want to know... When the final battle comes around, who are you going to fight for?"

"You're not going to be happy with my answer," he warned her as he fought back a smirk. She sighed, preparing herself for the worst when he said, "I don't really care who wins. I'd prefer not to fight at all to be honest."

Ginny's eyes widened with shock. "You mean you're not going to fight with the Death Eaters?"

"Now, why would you think that?" he inquired with a cheeky grin. Her lips formed a relieved smile as she spooned some mashed potatoes on her plate.

"Oh, no particular reason."

* * *

Two nights later, Ginny trudged along the path to the Gryffindor Common Room. After dinner, she had gone directly to the library to get her Transfiguration essay done so she could enjoy a homework free weekend, but had only managed to make a small dent in the long paper after hours of diligent work. Resolving to finish it up the following morning, she decided it would be better just to head up to the Common Room, as Madam Pince probably would have kicked her out of the library soon anyway.

As she entered through the portrait hole, she was glad to see that the room was nearly empty; Seamus was chatting merrily with Liete Katrae, while Neville had a Herbology book resting in his lap as he sat in one of the cushy armchairs. She walked over and flopped down in the other chair, her eyes closing as she reveled in the warmth of the fire. Neville looked up from his book with a smile.

"Hey Ginny. I didn't think you'd be back for a while."

"I can only take so much homework," she replied, opening her eyes as she returned his friendly expression. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Not really, but I have been meaning to talk to you about something," he started, closing his book. "You've been hanging around Zabini an awful lot lately."

"I've been tutoring him, that's all," she informed him casually.

"But still, it seems like you two have gotten really... close." Ginny chuckled softly.

"Neville, you don't have to worry about me. Honestly, I can take care of myself," she insisted.

The boy laughed. "I know that, but Slytherins? It seems a bit risky to get involved with them."

"He's really not a bad guy..." she said, glancing at the fire. "I mean, he's not like Malfoy or anything."

Neville stood up and offered her a weak smile. "I believe you, but it doesn't hurt to be careful."

"I know." She waved slightly as he headed for the boy's dormitories before slumping back once more and allowing her eyes to flutter closed.

* * *

The following morning found Ginny situated at a table in the library, a quill in hand as she continued the daunting task of finishing her essay while she waited for a certain Slytherin to show up for their scheduled tutoring session. When a dull shadow cast itself over her paper, she opened her mouth to scold the boy for being late, but rather than meeting playful brown eyes, her gaze met cool grey ones. Her own eyes narrowed reflexively.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she interrogated, her voice as calm and collected as she could make it.

"I wasn't aware that one needed a reason to be in the library," he countered.

"That's not what I meant, you prat," she snapped back, rotating slightly at the waist to face him. "I want to know why you're disturbing me with your oh-so-wonderful presence," she continued with a sickeningly sweet smile, sarcasm dripping from her words.

He raised an eyebrow at her behavior as a smirk formed on his lips. "It's about time. I was afraid you'd never learn that some people are just more _superior_ than others."

"Malfoy..." she hissed dangerously, watching him with irritation as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I have a lot of work to do, so you'd better have something to say to me or you might find yourself stuck as the 'Amazing Bouncing Ferret' for the rest of your life."

"Clearly someone didn't get enough sleep last night," he commented before eying her hair that was tossed into a messy ponytail. "Or take time to make themselves look presentable."

Ginny bit her lip as she fought back the strong urge to hex the blonde boy till he couldn't walk straight. "I swear, if you don't get out of here-"

"Blaise sent me to tell you he couldn't make it."

She stared at him for a moment before spitting out through gritted teeth, "You couldn't just tell me that in the first place?"

"I would have, but it's much too fun to bug the hell out of you," he answered with a hint of amusement. "Especially since you make it so easy to do so." Before she could come up with a retort, he flashed her one last smirk before turning on his heel and exiting the library.

* * *

By Monday evening, Blaise had completely recovered from the fever that had prevented him from meeting with Ginny two days before and the two were comfortably positioned at a library table while going over Memory charms.

"One incantation is _Obliviate_," the petite girl explained as she pointed to a section in the text that demonstrated the wand motions, "which can be used to erase certain memories." Blaise nodded lazily, his chin resting in the palm of one hand as he tried to stay focused.

"And then, this spell-"

"You may want to get your facts straight before moving on to a different spell," a voice noted snidely. Ginny and Blaise both glancing over to see Malfoy standing there, sending her a disapproving look before turning his attention to his friend. "Honestly, she's the best tutor you could find?"

Blaise straightened his back before sending Draco an impish grin. "If I remember correctly, it was _you _who suggested her." The girl whirled around to face the blonde, a look of shock and utter bewilderment on her face.

"You _what_?"

"I don't believe anyone was speaking to you, Weaslette," he sneered in return. Blaise snorted, noticing the mildly defensive tone the other Slytherin's voice had taken on.

Ginny's eyes narrowed before she turned up her nose and muttered, "Sod off, Malfoy."

"As tempting as it sounds to get away from your Muggle-loving filth," he began airily before shooting a glare at Blaise, "I need to speak with this prat you're sitting with." Said boy simply leaned back on the rear legs of his chair as he smiled back innocently.

"Surely it can wait till later, Draco."

He opened his mouth to spit out a scathing remark, but Ginny spoke first. "Yes, Malfoy. I thought daddy dearest would have taught you better than to barge in on other people's conversations," she stated smugly before propping a book up in front of her. "As I was saying-" A second later, the book was snatched from her grasp and slammed shut on the table. She looked furiously, only to meet the Slytherin's equally livid gaze.

"I would advise you not to make such insolent remarks," he growled under his breath, his eyes flashing. "You never know what could happen."

Blaise rolled his eyes before standing up and pulling Draco away from the red-headed girl. Dropping his hand from his mate's shoulder, he shoved his hands in his pocket and sighed. "I apologize, Ginny. I'll be back as soon as I see what he wants." The two boys moved a little ways a way and turned behind a bookshelf before Draco spun around to face him.

"Where the _hell_ is my paper?"

Blaise shrugged, a passive look on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about." The other boy's eyes narrowed as he obviously tried to keep his calm.

"The Charms one that I let you borrow to check your work. The one that I _never got back_ even though we had Charms earlier this morning," he told him slowly, his voice quivering with suppressed anger.

"Oh... That one," Blaise mumbled. "I kinda lost it," he admitted, though he didn't seem too upset.

"You _lost it_?" Draco repeated icily. "Do you realize how much missing that assignment will affect my grade? Not to mention I have two nights of detention."

"Look, I'll make it up to you somehow, all right?" Blaise assured him. The blonde clenched his teeth as he repressed another irate response.

"...Fine," he grumbled, pushing past Blaise as he headed back to the table. Ginny glanced up at him with a curious look before her eyes widened with astonishment as he sat down at their table.

"...What are you doing?"

"My homework," he replied curtly as Blaise took also sat back down. "This is the only table that's not occupied by Hufflepuffs, and I'd rather sit here than with them," he continued coldly.

"Ignore him," Blaise murmured as he shifted his attention to the girl beside him. With a quick smile he said, "Anyway, where were you?"

"Umm... Memory charms." She reopened the book and placed it between them. "Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," she shot a look in Malfoy's direction, "_Obliviate _is used to erase certain memories. To cast it-"

"You can also alter memories using _Obliviate_," Draco interjected. She pursued her lips and looked up from the book. He simply smirked back and added, "As I said, Weasley, keep your facts straight." Sighing, she returned to her tutoring and reminded herself to pay a little more attention to the text in front of her.

* * *

A/N - As usual, please review! : ) I love hearing about what you guys like (or don't like) and any questions that you have. I really appreciate it : ) See you next chapter!

-Twilight-Songstress


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

Ever since that day in the library, Draco had started hanging around them more often. He would be sitting at a table with Blaise when she arrived for their tutoring sessions or working on his homework while observing their lake-side practice. Usually, his presence would be limited to simply watching, though an occasional comment would escape his mouth just to grate on her nerves. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he had any intention of dropping that habit.

"Weaslette, you're not casting that spell correctly," he pointed out with amusement. When she turned to glare at him, his gaze was still fixed to the book in his hands, though the slight curve of his lips betrayed his passiveness.

"Oh, really? Well, would you care to demonstrate then, since you're so bloody brilliant at Charms?" she retorted sweetly. Draco lifted his eyes for a second – just long enough to catch a glimpse of her irate expression – before chuckling softly and returning to his reading. "What? No comment, Malfoy?"

"Ginny, let it go," Blaise implored with a sigh. "You know he's just doing it to bother you." The girl frowned before turning back to her temporary student.

"Yeah, I know, but it's just so annoy-" Her words cut off abruptly when her wand suddenly flew out of her hand. Whirling around, she growled, "Malfoy! Stop interfering and give me back my wand!"

He stood up and took a few steps forward, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Stopping a few feet away from her, he asked, "What will you give me for it?"

Blaise let out a mirth-filled laugh as she stared at the blonde boy before lunging for her wand. He held it out of her reach, which only served to increase her frustration.

"Give it back, Malfoy," she muttered slowly, dangerously, her fists clenching at her side. He opened his mouth to respond, but Blaise spoke first.

"_Accio Ginny's wand._" Said object jerked out of Draco's lose grasp and floated over to the other Slytherin, who in turn returned it to Ginny with a proud smirk.

She mimicked the smile before airily stating, "If Blaise can cast it, I must've been teaching it correctly."

The corners of his lips twitched. "Just keep telling yourself that, Weaslette," he replied nonchalantly. Blaise watched with a knowing grin as his friend turned his back on the sputtering girl and calmly went back to his seat.

* * *

Almost a week later, Ginny stifled a yawn as she snuck through the dimly-lit hallways. It was past curfew and the only thing keeping her from curling up with a good book in front of the Common Room fire was the wrinkled note she held in her hand.

_"Ginny." The sound of her name caught her attention in the noisy dining area and she shifted in her seat at the table to see Blaise standing beside her. A perfected mask of indifference was on his face as he glanced at the other occupants of the table, most of whom were giving him cold looks, before focusing back on the red-head in front of him. "You forgot your book in the library."_

_She took the proffered text from him with a small, but gracious smile. "Thanks." He shrugged carelessly, but she noticed the way his lips quirked at the corners before he caught up with Draco at the Great Hall's exit. Placing the book in her lap, Ginny was about to return to her dessert before her eyes were drawn to a piece of parchment barely sticking out of her textbook. Slipping it from beneath the cover, she set it on top of the book before resting her forehead in the palm of her hand and continuing her meal as she read the note inconspicuously._

'You still owe me for that day in the library, remember? Meet me in the kitchens tonight at 10:30.'

_Ginny stuck the note back in between the pages and rose from her seat, opting to skip the rest of her desert so she could snack on something else later in the kitchens._

Now she found herself smiling at the painting that served as the kitchens' entrance as the pear giggled after a bit of gentle prodding. The door swung open and she situated herself at one of the many tables after asking one of the house-elves for a bottle of butterbeer. A quick glance at the old, wooden clock hanging perilously on the wall informed her that it was a few minutes before the scheduled meeting time. So she waited, idly sipping on her drink before the door swung open promptly at 10:30 as she expected (Blaise really was quite good at being on time), but the sight that greeted her caught her by surprise.

Swallowing her mouthful of butterbeer, she wondered, "What are you doing here?" Her words came out a little harsher than she intended and Draco Malfoy raised an eyebrow in question.

"I could ask you the same thing. A little late for a drink, don't you think, Weasley?" he quipped with a smirk. She frowned, taking another gulp before placing it down beside her and hopping off the table she was sitting on. Taking a few steps forward, she grabbed his hand and shoved the note inside.

"That'll answer your question," she told him with a dismissive wave of her hand. Picking up her butterbeer, she continued. "Now, since I'm assuming this is Blaise's idea of a joke, I think I'll head back upstairs." When she turned to the door though, Draco spoke up, his voice rich with amusement.

"'You still owe me for that day in the library?'" he quoted, his eyes raising from the note to meet her brown ones, which were currently wide with mortification as she realized how suggestive that line sounded. "I always knew you were that type of girl, but I thought Blaise had better taste," he said mockingly. Her face flooded with a heated blush as she snatched the note from his fingertips and shoved it in her pocket, suddenly feeling very annoyed with Blaise for his word choice.

"Nothing happened, all right?" she insisted. "Now, do whatever the hell you want, but I'm leaving," she announced, briskly heading for the door, but, much to her chagrin, the portrait refused to budge even after she tried slamming into it. In one last desperate attempt, she pounded her fist on the wood before turning and slumping against it with her eyes squeezed shut in frustration as she mumbled, "I'm going to kill him," under her breath.

"Are you done?" Opening her eyes, she saw Draco sitting in a chair with his legs stretched out in front of him, a bottle in his hand that she could only assume was filled with butterbeer. "You might as well take a seat," he suggested, tilting his head towards the other chair at the table. "We're clearly not getting out of here until he wants us too." She grudgingly did as he said and plopped down in the chair beside his, a heavy sigh escaping her lips as she let her head fall onto her folded arms.

"Why?" she moaned, her voice muffled by the fabric of her sleeves. "He knows I wanted to get my homework finished tomorrow morning before everyone else wakes up. Now I'll be lucky to get to bed before then."

"Hey, I'm not too thrilled about this either," Draco muttered, running a hand through his hair in agitation. "He obviously wants us to be on better terms than we are now." She rotated her head slightly so she was looking up at the boy.

"I haven't hexed you yet. I'd say that's an improvement," she reminded him. He chuckled bitterly and took another swig from the bottle.

"Oh yes. Now that we're all buddy-buddy and everything, I'm sure the prat'll let us out of here."

"Well, what d'you suggest we do?" she snapped back as she picked her head up off the table.

"I don't know."

Ginny sighed once more as she rested her chin in her hand and closed her eyes. "Some help you are," she grumbled. She sat there in thought as he finished off the rest of his drink and called over a house-elf. Once the elf returned, he took the two drinks from the tray and placed one in front of the girl beside him. Upon hearing the thud of the bottle meeting wood, her eyes fluttered open and she sent him a curious glance. "You didn't have to get me another one, you know."

He shrugged before simply replying with, "Yours was empty." The Gryffindor held him in a suspicious gaze for a moment longer.

"You're different this year," she mentioned casually, at which point his scoffed.

"Whatever you say, Weaslette..."

"Like that!" she exclaimed, pointing at him. When he responded with a questioning expression, she elaborated. "You don't sneer anymore when you address me, like just now, and when you try to annoy me, it's more teasingly than outright insults."

He stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a snort and looking away. "You're insane."

"Admit it," Ginny persisted, a growing smile on her lips. "I mean, Blaise must've noticed too. He wouldn't risk locking us in here together if he thought we'd kill each other."

The boy exhaled with mild exasperation. "Forget it, okay? If you want, we can just pretend I never gave you that drink." He grabbed the butterbeer from in front of her and placed it out of reach despite her protests. "There, now let's just go back to minding our own business until the stupid door fixes itself."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned back in her chair with her mouth forming a pout. "You didn't have to take my butterbeer away. I was just trying to state an _observation_." When he didn't say anything, she added, "Besides, the door isn't going to 'fix itself.'"

"Just... stop talking to me," he muttered, swirling the liquid around in its container for lack of anything better to do. She bit back a jibe at his level of maturity before leaning her head back against the top of her chair. As the room remained silent, with the exception of the house-elves working a little ways away, she gradually felt her eyes grow heavy until she had dozed off completely in her seat. Absorbed in his own thoughts, Draco failed to notice this fact, but it finally caught his attention when she shifted in her slumber so that her head was comfortably resting on his shoulder. He jerked slightly with surprise before turning to see her sleeping peacefully with her thick red hair draped over the front of his shirt. After briefly debating whether or not he should leave her be, he took another sip of his butterbeer and continued sorting out his thoughts.

So, that was the scene Blaise was greeted by nearly an hour and a half later when he walked through the kitchens' entrance: his fellow Slytherin staring at the blank table-top in contemplation with Ginny Weasley fast asleep on his shoulder. Holding back the urge to burst into a fit of laughter, he cleared his throat, which effectively caught the other boy's attention. Draco's eyes immediately narrowed as he sharply whispered, "Where the hell have you been?"

Blaise sent him an apologetic grin as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Well, you know how competitive I am... And I kinda got into another card game with Nott..."

"Whatever. Just get her off of me," he snapped, irritable from being stuck in the room for so long.

He wasted no time in following the demand, but paused before picking the girl up. "You have to admit, she does looks pretty cute like this," he commented as he tried to maneuver Ginny into his arms. After he successfully lifted her out of her seat, Draco promptly stood and started for the door. "Hey! Aren't you going to help me with her?" Blaise called, following after him.

"No." The boy's shoulders slumped as he prepared himself for the long trek up to the Gryffindor Common Room, silently hoping that his plan hadn't failed completely.

* * *

A/N - Please review! Hearing what you guys have to say makes writing this all the more enjoyable for me : ) Hope you liked the chapter!

-Twilight-Songstress


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

The following morning in the Great Hall, Blaise knew he was in for it when he saw a tired, but very miffed looking Ginny Weasley stomping in his direction. With mild alarm, he started to reach for his bag so he could attempt to run for it. Instead he glared when he saw that a nonchalant Draco had relocated it to a more inaccessible spot.

"Draco..." he hissed dangerously, but the slight pleading tone to his voice negated any hope he had of getting his friend on his side. He saw a smirk flit across his fellow Slytherin's visage as a fuming red-head stopped behind him. She cleared her throat loudly, and he was forced to glance over his shoulder. Despite the fact that they'd been seen together regularly, few people from his House seemed to realize that their relationship had developed into something more than him simply exploiting her for the sake of his grades. He had decided it best to keep it that way, so, putting up a false front, he airily asked, "Lost your way, Weasley? Or are you here to beg for a few sickles?"

Blaise immediately knew that he shouldn't have gone quite that far when he saw her eyes glint with anger. "You wish, Zabini," she muttered, her eyes narrowing. She bent slightly at the waist so her mouth beside his ear. "I'm not sure what you were trying to pull, but it had better not happen again." After a brief moment, she added, "And tell Malfoy to get that stupid smirk off his face," before straightening her back and walking over to the Gryffindor table without another word. Once she was gone, Blaise turned to Draco with a small grin. "She's not that pissed off," he informed him casually, taking a bite of his toast. The blonde beside him sent him a skeptical look.

"How can you tell?"

"She would've hexed me on the spot if she was _really _annoyed. Plus she had time to say she wanted you to get that smirk off your face," he replied smugly. Draco rolled his eyes and returned to his breakfast. After a minute though, he spoke up again.

"When are you two meeting again?"

"Tomorrow after classes," Blaise answered before he turned to his friend with the corners of his mouth turned up impishly. "Why do you want to know?"

Draco frowned, turning away and picking at the eggs on his plate. "Mind your own business," he grumbled. Blaise's grin simple widened as he heeded his friend's suggestion and resumed munching on his toast.

* * *

As she made her way down the hill that lead to the lake, Ginny wasn't particularly surprised to see Blaise waiting for her patiently with Draco a little ways off with a piece of parchment set on a book and a quill in hand.

"Hey, Ginny," Blaise called with a wave and a warm grin as usual. "For a while I thought you weren't going to come," he mused as she stopped in front of him.

She crossed her arms over her chest, a displeased look on her face. "I was considering it after you locked me in the kitchens."

"At least I locked you in a place where there's food," he noted with a small pout. At this gesture, her lips twitched slightly and the glowering look on her face softened with amusement.

"I'm still not happy with you," she stated with a sigh as she walked passed him and dropped her stuff down beside the other Slytherin. "Malfoy," she greeted with a slight tilt of her head. He looked up from his work and nodded cordially.

"Weasley." Blaise chuckled at their antics and moved to join them.

"You two are ridiculous," he commented, shaking his head. "So, what're we working on today?"

"Well, I was thinking I could teach you the Freezing Charm, since that's what you're supposed to be learning in class soon."

"Actually, we're learning the Imperturbable Charm before that," Draco mentioned, glancing up from his book. Ginny shot a stern look at him and turned back to Blaise, but didn't get the chance to speak before being cut off. "Something wrong, Weasley? Don't know the spell?"

The expression on her face made him think she was going to snap back, but to his surprise, she just exhaled. "No, I don't," she admitted wearily, brushing some hair out of her away from her eyes. "You'll just have to teach him that, I guess," she continued with a shrug.

Draco stared at her for a moment before his mouth formed confused frown. "Is there something wrong with you?"

She diverted her attention from Blaise once more and gazed at him with a furrowed brow. "Excuse me?" His cheeks turned a very faint pink as he lowered his head to focus on his paper.

"Forget it. There's obviously something wrong if you don't know the material you're supposed be helping him with," he responded haughtily. She pursed her lips as she held back a retort. Blaise simply sighed with exasperation and pulled Ginny away from what could only lead to a vehement argument.

* * *

An hour and a half later, it was beginning to get dark outside and Ginny decided it wouldn't be too pleasant to continue if they couldn't really see. Not to mention dinner was already in progress (Draco had left a little over twenty minutes ago), and her stomach was making loud protests about the lack of food. So they started trekking up the hill in hopes of getting to the Great Hall before all the good food was gone.

"You know," Blaise began, breaking the momentary silence, "you were in a pretty good mood today. Well, with the exception of this morning, of course."

Ginny let out a quiet laugh. "Just spit it out. Where are you going with this?"

"I'm just saying you were a bit... less touchy today." He grinned as she playfully shoved him.

"If you're referring to the fact that I didn't hex the living daylight out of you this morning, it was only because I didn't want to get detention," she explained, her voice laced with mirth.

"Well, that, but I was actually thinking of something else..."

"The fact that I didn't yell at Draco?" she wondered. "I guess I just realized that it's stupid to keep arguing with him. There's no point." Blaise paused for a moment in his step, which caused Ginny to glance over her shoulder with a curious expression. "What's wrong?"

The Slytherin studied her for a second – silently wondering if she had noticed her exact word choice – before smiling happily. "Nothing's wrong," he replied, catching up to her and teasingly ruffling her hair. She made a face, trying to fix her hair as walked ahead and he mumbled under his breath, "Just glad. That's all."

* * *

Ginny smirked as she held her wand in the air, which was levitating a hawthorn one at least ten feet above her. Malfoy was scowling at her with his hands clenched at his sides, while Blaise was standing off to the side watching the scene with nothing short of pure entertainment.

"Give me back my wand," Draco ordered tersely through gritted teeth. She smirked in response, making the object glide through the air above him.

"Just returning the favor," she said with a shrug. Draco whirled around to face his friend.

"Blaise, do something," he growled. When the other boy shook his head, Draco let out a huff of frustration. "You helped her!"

"Yeah, but you have to admit, you had this coming," Blaise remarked, his grin never fading.

The blonde's shoulders slumped before he crossed his arms. "You're asking for it, Weaslette," he warned. "As soon as I get my wand back, I'll-"

"You'll what?" she taunted, thought it was more jovial than malicious. "Hex me? I don't think you would..."

Draco unfolded his arms and took a few long strides towards her. He stopped a few feet away with a flicker of mischief in his eyes, and she had to tilt her head back a bit to meet his gaze. "You really don't think I would?" he murmured with a vexing curve to his lips. She froze, slightly alarmed by his close proximity as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her even closer. "Care to elaborate?" Ginny opened her mouth, but words failed her and out of the corner of his eye, Draco could see his wand fall to the ground due to her unfocused state. Once his plan had succeeded, he released the girl from his grasp and strolled over to the spot where his wand had landed before picking it up. "Thanks, Weasley," he quipped, twirling the wand in his hand as he walked back over to her. He flashed her a quick smirk and grabbed his bag before heading back towards the castle.

This seemed to knock her out of her daze, because a second later, her face contorted with indignation and she raised her wand. However, as she opened her mouth to say a spell, Blaise caught her by the wrist and pulled her hand down. "It's not worth it," he told her, releasing her hand. "He'll just get back at you again."

"But he started it in the first place!" Ginny contradicted. "I mean, if Draco hadn't stolen my wand two weeks ago, I wouldn't have done this and I refuse to let that prat have the last laugh-"

"You did it again," he interjected in a sing-songy manner. She cut off her rant almost immediately as her expression turned to one of confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Blaise simply grinned at her question and slung his bag over his shoulder as he started up the path to the school. "Wait! What'd I do?" she called, jogging after him.

When she caught up, he finally answered her. "You called him Draco again."

Her eyes widened a fraction. "I did not," she stated, shaking her head. "You must've heard wrong."

"Not to mention he didn't hex you just now," he added thoughtfully, ignoring her comment. "And you haven't seemed quite so hot-headed anymore..."

"...What are you implying?" she inquired hesitantly.

"It's just seems like there's something going on between you two," he said simply. Needless to say, she looked like someone had told her pigs were finally flying.

"..._What_?"

"I'm just voicing an opinion," Blaise grinned with a shrug. She gaped at him for a moment longer before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"You've gotta be kidding me," she mumbled with laughs punctuating her words. "Why, in the name of Merlin, are you telling me this?"

"Because I know Draco, and he doesn't act like that around many people," he elaborated. "I don't know how _you_ feel, but he's not gonna say anything if you don't first." They arrived at the Entrance Hall, where they would need to go their separate ways in order to get to classes.

"Blaise, I still don't-"

"Just think about it, okay?" Then with a small, encouraging smile, he turned his back on her and went up the stairs.

* * *

Ginny did think about what he had said, and it was for precisely that reason that she kept walking when she heard Blaise beckon her over in the hall after classes that Friday. To her dismay though, his hand closed around her arm and prevented her from going anywhere. She signed as he turned her around to face him.

"What's up with you?" he demanded, his voice sounding more worried than angry. "You've been avoiding me... Don't think I haven't noticed."

"Not now, Blaise," she uttered, jerking her arm away. When she tried to leave though, he stuck out his arm in front of her and blocked her path.

"No. You're not leaving until you tell me what's wrong."

She took a deep breath before locking eyes with him. "I can't keep tutoring you."

Blaise stepped back, slightly stunned. "What...? But we had an agreement!" he reminded her, but the argument was feeble.

"You even said that the agreement was hardly valid," she reasoned. "So I don't _have to _tutor you." Taking advantage of his surprise, she tried to slip away.

"Wait, Gin!" She paused and glanced over her shoulder at his downcast face. "Is this about what I said?"

"No," she answered with a sad smile. "I just think I need to focus on my own school work." And with that, she left, but from the way she diverted her eyes, he could tell that she was lying.

* * *

A/N - Sorry it's a bit late, but I hope you guys liked the chapter : ) Please review!

-Twilight-Songstress


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

Blaise stormed into the Slytherin Common Room, the portrait slamming shut behind him. A few first years looked up with frightened eyes, while Theodore Nott scoffed as the boy practically threw his bag on one of the tables. "Keep it down, Zabini. Some people are actually trying to focus in here," Nott snapped, glaring at Blaise from where he was playing chess with a slim blonde girl.

"Shut up, Nott," Blaise shot back as he disappeared down the hall leading to the boys' dormitories. If his friend was sticking to his usual daily schedule, he was certain that's where he'd be. Sure enough, when he threw the door open, Draco was sitting at the small desk in the corner with his back to him and a quill in hand. Upon hearing the door close with a loud thud, his writing paused for a moment before he continued with his homework.

"You're back early," he commented, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as the quill scratched against the parchment. "Weren't you going to find the Weaslette after class?

"I did."

Noticing the unusually sharp tone in Blaise's voice, Draco prompted, "And?"

"She's not tutoring me anymore."

The blonde spun around in his chair immediately. "_What_?" His brow furrowed. "Why not?" he demanded, his hand gripping the back of the chair.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Blaise countered. "She says it's cause she needs to focus more on her work, but I'm pretty sure it's for another reason."

"And what would that be?" Draco drawled through clenched teeth, trying calming himself down after his outburst.

"Oh, you should know better than anyone else," he remarked bitterly, which did nothing but fuel his friend's vexation.

"You're blaming _me _for this? You know damn well I haven't done anything to her!"

"That's the point," he muttered under his breath.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "If you have something to say, just spit it out."

After a second, Blaise turned away as his shoulders heaved with a sigh. "Forget it..." The other occupant of the room remained quiet as he controlled his urge to knock some sense into the boy on the opposite side of the room.

"What's going on with you anyway?" Draco inquired nonchalantly, causing Blaise to glance back over at him.

"You're not annoyed about this?" he replied, trying to read the other Slytherins face. The effort proved to be futile, no matter how well he could interpret people's actions. "We both know she's not just Weasley's little sister anymore."

"I don't know what you're getting at. She's just like the rest of those goody Gryffindors," Draco argued, keeping any hint of emotion out of his voice. It didn't take Blaise long to realize he was doing this and he let out a growl of frustration.

"But she's _not._ You've obviously noticed that." Much to his surprise, Draco exhaled softly.

"I'm not stupid, Blaise," he stated, locking eyes with the boy in order to better see his reaction. "I know you fancy her." He was disappointed to find that Blaise could hide things almost as well as he could.

"Don't be ridiculous," he snorted, folding his arms in front of him. "We're just friends, that's all." With this, Draco turned back to his work.

"Whatever... Just get her back, all right?"

Blaise gazed at him with an incredulous expression. "...Excuse me?"

"Just do it," he ordered with a huff. "You've clearly done something to piss her off."

_Just admit you want her to talk to us again just as much as I do, _Blaise thought. "Fine, but once I do, you need to talk to her." Draco glanced over his shoulder, about to ask what he was talking about, but only saw Blaise pulling the door shut as he left the room. In the hallway, he started walking back to the common room with a dry laugh. _Why do I always have to do everything?_

When Blaise had originally schemed his little plan for getting Ginny to admit her feelings to Draco (or vice versa, though that seemed to be the more improbable scenario), he thought t

* * *

hat the timing couldn't have been better. However, as he walked into a room filled with cheerful people giving an assortment of pink and red items to each other the next morning, he was silently cursing the irony of it all. Of course Ginny had to go and ruin his plan the day before Valentine's Day.

He made his way over to the Slytherin table where Draco was idly picking at the food on his plate and Blaise couldn't help but entertain the thought that his friend was probably mentally grumbling about the stupidity of such a holiday.

As Blaise took the seat beside him, Draco looked up from his meal. "So, did you talk to her?" he asked.

"Yup. She's going to start tutoring me tomorrow."

He quirked an eyebrow at his simple answer. "She agreed that easily? I thought she was avoiding you."

"No... She's not," Blaise responded bemusedly.

"Wait, who are you talking about?" Draco wondered with a perplexed look.

"Mandy Brocklehurst." When his expression didn't change, Blaise elaborated. "You know, Ravenclaw... our year... Ring a bell?"

"I know who she is," he retorted sharply. "I thought you were going to talk to Weasley."

Blaise scoffed. "Do you think I have a death wish? If I bother her too soon, she's just going to get annoyed and hex me." After a moment, his mouth formed a grin. "Or you could just go talk to her. Maybe she'd listen then."

"Yeah, that's likely," he mumbled sarcastically. "She's not in here yet. You can go wait in the hall for her or something."

"Why are you so insistent that I talk to her? You don't miss her, do you?" Blaise teased, but when Draco shot a dark look in his direction, he finally consented. "Fine, fine, I'm going." He got up from the bench and started towards the door, stopping next to a Slytherin girl with light brown hair. "Hey, Tracey? Mind if I borrow one of these?" he asked, gesturing to the large bundle of roses sitting on the table next to her.

"Yeah, go ahead," she said with a wave of her hand, "but you owe me, got it?"

"Got it," he grinned, taking one deep red rose from the pile and continuing on his way. When he got out in the hallway, it was only a few minutes before he spotted Ginny's bright red-hair in the crowd of people going to breakfast. Deciding that she'd probably ignore him if he called her name, Blaise fought his way through the crowd and caught her by the wrist. She jumped before whirling around to face him. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Blaise? What're you doing?" she hissed. He didn't answer as he had pulled her over to the side of the hall. "Blaise, I thought I told you-" She cut off her words when a laugh escaped him.

"I just came over to say Happy Valentine's Day," he told her brightly as he offered her the rose. She took it between two fingers gingerly, sending him a curious look.

"What are you up to?" she murmured, tilting her head to the side questioningly. He opened his mouth to reply, but paused in order to rethink his choice of words.

"...What if I told you that I was joking about everything I'd said?" He didn't need to be more specific, she understood.

"You weren't though." He frowned at her unfortunately true accusation. She gave him a small smile. "Give me some time, okay? I need to think things through."

"And what am I supposed to tell Draco? He keeps pestering me about you," Blaise muttered, which caused a flustered expression to appear on her face.

"He does?" she uttered with mild embarrassment. "But I bet he hasn't actually called me by my name yet, has he?" she continued sourly.

"Don't be so hard on him. He's as confused as you are," he pointed out with a playful grin. She rolled her eyes, twirling the flower between her fingers.

"I'll find you when I've sorted this all out, alright? Until then, please stop accosting me in the hallway. People'll start wondering."

"That's fine with me," Blaise agreed as she walked past him before he followed her into the Great Hall.

* * *

True to his word, Blaise left Ginny to her own accord for the days that followed, regardless of how irritable it made his best friend. Thankfully, the girl hadn't put off thinking about the matter because three days later, she was sliding into the chair next to him in the library. Without glancing up from his essay, he inquired, "Does this mean I can start talking to you again? I'm assuming you wouldn't be here otherwise."

A surprisingly cheerful laugh passed her lips. "Yes. This whole thing is stupid anyway. Whether or not you're actually _right_ about... you know..." she trailed off awkwardly, at which he chuckled.

"And how do you feel about him?" he pried. She shook her head.

"You don't need to know that," she chimed, placing her books down on the table. Blaise fought back a snicker, doubting _she_ even knew that answer to that question. It was then that a lofty voice caught their attention.

"Decided to join us again, Weaslette?" She rotated her head to see Draco standing on the opposite side of the table, his lips turned up slightly despite the careless tone of his voice. She raised an eyebrow in Blaise's direction at the nickname, but he simply shrugged with amusement. Sighing, Ginny faced the blonde once more.

"Do you always have to call me that?" she griped, resting her elbow on the wooden surface and placing her head in her hand. "It's really annoying."

"Why do you think I do it?" he smirked, taking his seat across from her. Her lips formed a small pout.

"Git..." she mumbled, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms. At the same time, Blaise scooted his chair back before standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Well, I need to grab some lunch before classes start again, so I guess I'll leave you two alone," he announced. Draco and Ginny both whipped their heads around to face him.

"But-" they began in unison before looking at each other. Neither knew what to say until Blaise broke the silence with a quiet cough.

"If you guys don't have anything to say," he gestured towards the door with an entertained expression, "I'll just be on my way."

"I'll come with you," Draco said quickly, standing up and grabbing his back.

A hint of exasperation appeared on Blaise's visage and also slipped into his tone as he asked, "See you later, Gin?"

"Yup," she piped, opening her book and pulling out some parchment. Her eyes then shifted to Draco as a grin spread across her lips. "I'll see ya later too, Malfoy."

He returned her gaze with an equally mischievous look. "Same to you, _Weaslette_." The girl sighed once more as Blaise chuckled before the two Slytherins left her to her work.

* * *

"Ginny!" The red-head paused in her step and turned around to see Blaise coming towards her with the Great Hall door creaking closed behind him.

"Yeah?" She couldn't help her voice from sounding weary — it had been a long week and she wanted nothing more than to play a game or two of cards before hitting the sack. After a moment, a crease formed between her eyebrows. "Wait... Where's Draco?" she wondered, noticing the lack of her friend's usual companion.

"Oh, he'll be out in a minute, but I wanted to talk to you about something," he explained. She shifted her weight impatiently as she fought back a yawn.

"What is it?"

"It's just that-" His words halted when he heard the door open behind him. Ginny's eyes darted to the side curiously, but before she could see who it was, she felt his hand close around her wrist. She let out a small yelp as he jerked her forward, but any words of protest abruptly died on the tip of her tongue as he caught her lips with his.

Before her mind could even grasp what was going on, Blaise pulled away, unable to stop a smile from coming to his face. "That's all I wanted to say," he told the shocked girl with a shrug. She could only stare after him as he walked past her and disappeared around the corner, completely oblivious to the other person standing in the corridor.

* * *

A/N - Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! As always, please review : )

-Twilight-Songstress


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

When Blaise had decided to initiate his little plan in the Entrance Hall, he had expected Draco to be fuming. What he hadn't expected was for him to walk into their dormitory later that evening as if nothing had happened. Now, after four days, he was still waiting for Draco to lose his temper, but that was unlikely — he had taken to simply ignoring him instead. Luckily, this didn't mean that his plan had completely failed either. Without Blaise to talk to, the other Slytherin had nowhere else to turn but in Ginny's direction.

So when he walked into the library to meet Mandy Brocklehurst for a tutoring session, he wasn't surprised to see Draco and Ginny sitting at a table together quietly doing their homework. Taking a seat near the opposite side of the library, he couldn't help a frown from forcing its way on to his lips as he realized he could still see them from his table. Just as he was about to get up to find a different spot, Mandy slid into the chair across from him.

"Ready to get started, Zabini?" she prompted a few seconds later. He nodded, his mind already wandering to the pair on the other side of the library as he gazed down at the piece of paper she handed him. "Well, first of all, I wrote out a few notes for you about what we went over last time. That way you can review before the exam next week."

"Thanks," he replied, placing the notes inside his Charms book. "What are we going over today?"

"I was thinking the Protean charm," she mused as she flipped through her own textbook. "Of course, that's fairly advanced material... So we may want to wait a-" Her words cut off abruptly when a tall boy with dark brown hair appeared at her side. Sending him a curious look, she wondered, "What brings you here, Terry?"

The boy, Terry Boot from Ravenclaw, glanced at Blaise before jerking his head towards an abandoned corner. "I need to talk to you really quickly. Is this a bad time?"

Mandy shook her head before sending Blaise an apologetic smile as she stood. "I'll just be a second." He watched as the two of them walked just out of earshot and then diverted his eyes to where his friends were situated. Ginny has a befuddled expression on her face as she looked up to where Draco was sitting and said something. A smirk appeared on the blonde's face before he leaned across the table to point something out on her paper. She stared at the parchment for a moment, a blush rising on her cheeks as she raised a hand to her face to hide it. Mumbling something, she bowed her head as Draco chuckled. If Mandy's return hadn't drawn Blaise's attention away from the scene, he would have seen Ginny's lips quirk slightly as she proceeded to fix her essay. "Sorry about that," she murmured awkwardly as she took her seat once more.

Blaise grinned with amusement. "Did your boyfriend need something?" To his surprise, a tinkling laugh escaped her lips as she pushed her glassed up on the bridge of her nose.

"_Ex_-boyfriend actually," she informed him. "Terry's dating Sarisa Esteed from Gryffindor." He responded by wrinkling his nose.

"Oh, the Mudbl-?" She shot a stern look across the table and he covered his comment with a small cough. "The Muggle-born?"

"Yeah," she answered, seemingly satisfied with his recovery before her lips formed a frown. "The poor guy's been absolutely miserable with her not being here and all..."

"As fascinating as your ex-boyfriend's love life is," he began with a bored tone, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, "I believe you were saying something about the Protean charm?"

"I was," she sighed before gazing at the page. "Okay, so there are usually a few questions about this charm on the NEWTs, given that it's an incredibly complex spell. I doubt even half the people in our year will be able to cast it..."

_Draco can cast it_, Blaise thought bitterly. _If I just asked him, I could be doing something else right now. Too bad he's being a royal pain in the arse..._

"Thankfully, the questions on the NEWTs are usually theoretically — at least that's what I've heard — so it shouldn't be a problem if you can't cast it," she reasoned. After this particular comment, her voice was reduced to mere background noise in Blaise's mind as he carelessly nodded along with whatever she was saying. Occasionally, he would catch a few words, but it was only when her book closed with a thud that he was knocked out of his daze.

"Tomorrow then?" she inquired as if he'd been paying attention the entire time.

"Yeah, tomorrow's fine."

She got up from her seat, picking up her bag in one and her books in the other. "I'll see you then." Once she'd left, he decided it'd be better not to waste the time he had before dinner started and grudgingly pulled his Potions homework out of his bag.

* * *

On the other side of the library, Ginny was growing more and more frustrated with her Dark Arts essay. After alternating between staring at her textbook and paper, she finally dropped her quill and buried her face in her hands tiredly. "Merlin, I cannot take this class anymore."

"Finally breaking down, Weasley?" She lifted her hands away from her face and slumped in her chair.

"Maybe if the class wasn't so _awful_, I wouldn't have an issue with it," she grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. "But everything he teaches us is illegal!"

"I bet you're wishing you weren't such a little goody-goody anymore," Draco quipped smugly. She responded with a saucy smirk.

"No, because it hasn't gotten you very far, has it?"

He rolled his eyes. "At least I've got good grades in all of my classes."

Ginny frowned, her voice taking on a defensive tone as she muttered, "I have good grades in all of the _important _classes."

"You know, if you think about it Weasley, learning the dark magic is no different than learning how to defend against it," he remarked casually.

A tiny huff passed her lips. "What are you talking about?"

Draco shrugged as his eyes returned to his parchment. "This way, at least you know what you'll be up against." She sighed, realizing that while he did have a point, his reasoning was a bit flawed.

"I wouldn't say there's 'no difference.'"

He shook his head with mild exasperation before shoving his essay back in his bag. "Whatever."

As he stood, she wondered, "So, where're you headed off to?"

"Dinner. Are you coming?"

"Really? You're willing to be seen walking with me?" she teased, packing up her own things. "I'm speechless."

"Don't get too used to it," he countered with a slight grin. She was about to follow him towards the exit when she caught sight of Blaise out of the corner of her eye.

"Actually Malfoy, there's something else I need to do, so I'll have to turn down your offer." He paused and turned around to face her, which ultimately led to him noticing his friend as well.

Putting two and two together, Draco resumed his planned path to the exit. "Suit yourself."

Ginny's shoulders fell slightly. She wasn't blind – she could tell something had happened to make the two Slytherins act so aloof towards one another, but the reason behind it still remained elusive to her. Deciding to put that problem aside till later, she moved on to the more pressing matter at hand as she plopped down in the seat that had been occupied by Mandy Brocklehurst not so long ago.

Blaise raised his eyes for a brief moment with a quick grin before his quill continued to scratch against the parchment before him. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, nothing much. I was just wondering about something."

"And what would that be?" he prompted, amused by the offhandedness of her voice when he knew what was coming.

"Well, I just wanted to know why you kissed me on Friday." He placed his quill next to its inkpot and relaxed in his seat before meeting her eyes with a mischievous look.

"You don't sound particularly alarmed by it," he noted with a grin. She easily returned the expression.

"I'm not really, it just caught me a bit off guard," Ginny admitted. "I just wanna know if you meant anything by it. I mean, I have no idea how your mind works sometimes..."

He pondered her statement for a moment before asking, "If I said it did mean something, would it really affect anything?"

The corners of her lips curved impishly. "Possibly."

"In that case, you don't really need to know," he replied loftily. "I'm quite happy with the way things are at the moment."

"Oh yes, it must be absolutely brilliant having your best friend ignore you," Ginny murmured sarcastically.

"He's just in one of his moods. He'll snap out of it eventually."

The Gryffindor sighed, rising from her chair. "I'll take your word for it, but he'd better snap out of it soon. Only talking to one of you at a time is too weird..."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Blaise told her, causing her to laugh lightly.

"I know _you_ wouldn't." She tilted her head to the side. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah." He offered her a small wave, which she returned before heading for the door.

* * *

Two days later, Ginny was storming down the hall, not caring how much noise she made or who might catch her out of her Common Room past curfew. If that cruel bitch Carrow thought she could get away with treating people so horribly, she was in for a rude awakening. Seamus was in the Hospital Wing just because he had spoken up when their Professor had insulted Muggle-borns, and that was a thought that Ginny simply couldn't live with.

Opening the Muggle Studies classroom door a crack, she peeked in and, upon discovering the room was empty, proceeded with her plan. Slipping a small box from the pocket of her robes, she placed it on a desk before checking the storage room to make sure it was empty.  
"Well, isn't this déjà vu-ish?"

"That's not a word..." Ginny mumbled before her eyes widened with alarm. Spinning around, she was met by the playful brown eyes of Blaise Zabini as he leaned casually against the closed door. "Blaise!" she hissed, taking a few steps towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"I believe the better question would be 'What are _you_ doing here?' It's after hours, not to mention you're in a Death Eater's classroom," he observed with a hint of amazement to his voice. "Do you get a thrill from putting yourself in dangerous situations or something?"

"Blaise, please leave," she insisted almost desperately. "This doesn't concern you." He ignored her and walked past her to pick up the small box that was innocently sitting on a desk.

"So, what is this?" he questioned, examining it curiously. Ginny snatched it away a few seconds later.

"One of my brothers' Portable Swamps."

"Hmm... Interesting."

When it was obvious he wasn't planning on going anywhere, she exhaled with irritation. "If you aren't going to leave, at least back up," she muttered as she pulled him behind her before tossing the object. Almost immediately, water appeared out of no where, flooding the room, as green moss began to creep along the walls and desks.

"Brilliant," Blaise remarked as he gazed at the product's result before taking the red-head's hand and dragging her towards the door through the thin layer of swampy water that was hastily expanding. "Now let's get out of here." The sounds of footsteps outside the door caused Ginny to resist.

"Blaise, wait!" He stopped, also hearing the soft noises of shoes on the stone ground. Thinking quickly, he moved back over to the Professor's desk with the girl in tow before pushing her under the desk. "Wait, what are-?"

"Stay down there," he commanded sternly, barely having time to straighten his back before the door swung open.

"What's going on in here?" the squat Alecto Carrow screeched as she stomped into the room. Upon feeling the cold, mucky substance slosh around her feet, her face scrunched up with anger before whirling on Blaise. "You're behind this?"

"I guess you've caught me, Professor," he stated with a slight shrug. Carrow rushed over, grabbing his arm roughly as he moved a bit closer to the desk to hide Ginny from view.

"Damn right I have," she sneered. "You're coming with me to the Headmaster's office, boy. And don't think you'll get off easy just because you're a Slytherin."

"I wouldn't expect to," he retorted snarkily, which only served to infuriate the Professor even more.

"I'd watch that attitude if I were you," she snarled, jerking him towards the rooms exit. For a fleeting moment, he felt Ginny's hand reach out and close around his as if she could stop him from going, but he slipped out of her grasp, leaving her to watch helplessly as her friend took the fall for her brash actions.

* * *

A/N - I hope you enjoyed the chapter : ) Reviews make my day!

-Twilight-Sonstress


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

The next morning at breakfast, Ginny couldn't stop fidgeting in her seat as she tried to eat her meal. Every few minutes or so, she would turn to look at the Slytherin table, waiting for a certain boy to show up in order to ease her anxiety, but when people had started trickling out of the hall to go to their classes, he still hadn't come in.

It wasn't until nearly everyone was gone that Ginny rose from her seat and walked briskly over to the Slytherin table, stopping behind a blonde boy before sitting down backwards on the bench beside him. With obvious agitation lacing her voice, she asked, "Malfoy, where is he?"

"Where is who?" he responded, the uncaring tone in his voice only rattling her nerves even more.

"You know who I'm talking about," she hissed. "Now, where is he?"

Draco shrugged. "I haven't seen him today." She exhaled softly and leaned back against the table as a look of concern crossed her face.

"But you share a dormitory... You _must've_ seen him."

He glanced over at her as she stared down at her folded hands. His lips curved down slightly at her troubled expression before he mumbled, "I heard him come in last night after I went to bed, and he was already gone by the time I got up. Happy?"

"No," Ginny grumbled, her shoulders slumping. "That still doesn't answer my question."

"I don't _know_ the answer to your question," he snapped back, dropping his fork on his plate and turning to face her. "Why're you so worked up about this anyway?"

"I've gotta talk to him."

"Why?"

She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you're not gonna be useful, then just say it."

"I've already told you I don't know where he is," Draco muttered, but upon seeing her pout, he couldn't help but add, "But if I see him, I'll tell you." This urged a small smile from her despite the melancholy air.

"Thanks..." It was then that she noticed all of the other people at the table — or rather, the not-so-friendly glares they were giving them. "We're receiving a lot of odd looks, aren't we?"

He rolled his eyes. "You just noticed?"

"...Well, you should probably say something insulting so they don't get suspicious," she suggested quietly, her lips quirking at the irony of the situation.

"Now you're asking me to insult you?" he drawled with poorly concealed amusement. "Make up you're mind, Weasley."

Narrowing her eyes, she ordered, "Just do it." A moment later, he caught her off guard by roughly shoving her off the bench.

"Get lost, Weaslette," he stated airily in a louder voice then he'd previously been talking in, effectively drawing the attention of the other Slytherins. "Your presence sickens me."

She raised an eyebrow, wondering if that was the best he could come up with. "Excuse me? You were the one who was coming onto me, Malfoy." She fought back a laugh as his expression abruptly changed from one of false anger to disbelief. He recovered fairly quickly and after a second, a sneer was on his face.

"In your dreams."

Ginny's voice took on a sarcastic quality as she replied, "Of course," before turning away to hide her growing smile.

* * *

As Draco opened the boys' dormitory door after dinner, he was a little surprised to find Blaise with his back to the door, dropping his bag on his bed. He continued into the room, closing the door behind him before casually inquiring, "Where've you been all day? It's not like you to skip class."

"The library," the other boy answered simply, still facing away from Draco. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed at this; he reached out to place a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"How come you're-?" He froze as Blaise faced him, his head bowed slightly, but Draco could still see his swollen, bruised eye and the bandage that was placed on his forehead. "...What the bloody hell happened to you?"

Blaise jerked away, bitterly retorting with, "What? _Now _you decide to talk to me again?"

"Who did this?" he demanded, ignoring his comment.

"I can handle it on my own." Blaise started to walk towards the door, but paused when Draco spoke up.

"Does this have something to do with why Weasley's been looking for you?"

He paused before continuing on his way. "That's none of your business."

"Wait. Where do you think you're going?" When he didn't stop, Draco's hands clenched at his sides. "I wanna know what the hell is going on!"

Blaise turned around in the doorway, his hand on the knob as he said, "Go ask Ginny. I've got detention in a few minutes."

Draco gazed at him with confusion. "You've got deten-?" Before he could finish, the door shut. With a low growl of frustration, he tossed his bag on the floor and flopped down on the bed, silently contemplating why the hell his friend wouldn't trust him.

* * *

By some random stroke of luck, Ginny finally spotted Blaise in the hallway the following day as she was making her way back to the Common Room from lunch. It wasn't too hard, since most of the students were taking advantage of the nice weekend weather or working on homework, leaving the hallways almost barren. Catching him by the arm, she pulled him to a stop.

"Blaise, I've been looking everywhere for you." She walked in front of him, her mouth open to continue, but her words faltered as she saw the injuries. "...Oh Merlin," she breathed, guilt written in her expression. "What happened?"

"It's fine," he assured her. When the distress on her face remained, he forced a grin. "Really."

"I-I'm so sorry. This is all my faul-"

"You shouldn't say that," he interjected, but as usual, she just had to argue with him.

"But it is!"

"And I'm not saying it isn't," he responded, "but you didn't tell me to take the blame. I did that on my own, so don't worry about it."

"Don't you dare tell me not to worry about it," she countered, her emotions getting the best of her. "I've been worried sick about you for the past two days. What else do you expect me to do when you don't show up for classes or meals? Especially when those damn people are involved-"

"Gin, you're ranting."

"I know I'm ranting!" she blurted out before a huff escaped her lips. "...Why did you do it?" He locked eyes with her and answered as simply as possibly could.

"Because I wanted to."

An embarrassed flush appeared on her cheeks as she looked away with a frown. "Well... Don't do it again," she murmured.

He grinned. "Then don't do something so stupid again," he teased, causing her to lift her gaze.

"So you're not mad at me?"

"Of course not," he said with a chuckle. "How could I be mad at you?"

Ginny echoed his laughter before hesitantly stepping forward to give him a warm, grateful hug. "...Thanks for what you did. I owe you."

"It was no problem."

She sighed at his response and pulled away, taking his hand in the process. "Come on," she smiled, tugging him down the hall. "I've got something that'll help that bruising..."

* * *

With a loud, stretched out yawn, Ginny rest her chin in the palm of her hand as she continued working on her Dark Arts homework. After she'd given Blaise some of her brothers' bruise-remover paste, she'd gone straight to the library and had yet to leave. Now, most of the other students had gone to bed, but she was determined to finish all of her work that night. However, drowsiness was quickly setting in, and she was finding herself growing sleepier by the minute. She was so tired in fact, that she didn't notice the presence of one Draco Malfoy till he shut the book she was staring at with a thud. Her head snapped up almost immediately, and the glare she shot him was fueled by the short-temperedness that usually comes with a lack of sleep.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she scowled, reopening her book. He promptly closed it once again.

"Okay, Weasley, I want to know what's been going on these past two days," he began evenly, but she wasted no time in cutting him off with a terse response.

"You don't need to worry about it."

"I think I do. It was _my_ best friend who ended up with a black eye, and I know you're involved in this too."

"Malfoy, something did happen, but we've worked it out and you don't need to know about it," she informed him with an air of finality, but he wasn't willing to accept that answer.

"You've both been hiding things from me, and I'm tired of it!" Draco bit back through clenched teeth, which only pushed her over the edge.

"You haven't even been talking to him for the past week!" she spat in a hushed tone. The last thing she needed at the moment was for Madam Pince to come over and add to the already problematic situation. Placing her quill down, she grumbled, "You should just be glad he puts up with you sometimes." Draco must've had the same fear of Madam Pince, because a moment later, he was dragging her back to the most secluded corner of the library. Once they were behind a towering shelf of dusty old books, he released his hold on her arm and let out a sigh.

"Weasley, just tell me what's going on," he implored almost wearily. Her anger had subsided a bit and she glanced down at the floor.

"...You know the portable swap that was in Carrow's room the other day?" He caught on quickly and nodded.

"I knew you had something to do with that..."

"Yeah, I did," she confirmed sadly, "but when Carrow came in, Blaise hid me and told her that he did it."

"So that's why he's been in detention?"

"Mm-hmm, but I never thought he would-"

"It's Blaise. What else would you expect him to do," Draco snorted before narrowing his eyes. "_You_ on the other hand need to actually _think_ before you do something," he berated harshly. "If she'd caught you instead, she would've done much worse."

Her nose wrinkled with distain. "I'm old enough to take care of myself," she snapped, making a move to return to her work. "You don't have to tell me what to do." Without a second though, he reached out and pulled her back.

"Clearly I do," he hissed. "At this rate, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"I'm sorry I'm not as apathetic as you are," she shot back icily, trying to pull away from him, but he'd already trapped her against the bookshelf. Realizing that she couldn't get away, she continued her argument. "I can't just let them get away with hurting my friends."

"Oh, and you think I can? I don't like it either, but if you hadn't done something so _stupid_, Blaise would've never gotten in trouble!"

"I only did it because of what that bitch did to Seamus!" Ginny argued defensively.

"That doesn't mean you have to run off and be a bloody idiot about it!" he snarled, causing her to let out a huff of frustration.

"What would you know? All _you_'ve done is hurt people all your life!" He grip slackened on her arm as he stepped back, startled by her comment before his face hardened into the mask that she was used to.

"...Take that back."

"No! I can't believe after everything you've done you have the nerve to tell _me_ not to do anything stupid!"

"I'm only telling you not to be a reckless moron because I don't want to see you get hurt!" Her furious expression disappeared in an instant, replaced by something akin to shock. He also froze when he realized what he'd said. "I mean- I..."

They both stood there, unsure what to say until Ginny took a step forward with a dream-like gaze. Raising her hand, she wove her fingers through his blonde hair before pulling his head down and placing her lips on his. He only briefly registered exactly what was going on as he wrapped an arm around her waist and backed her into the shelves, meeting her kiss with an equal fervor. She rose on her tip-toes, trying desperately to make up for the height difference as she slide her hand down his chest. After a moment, his lips parted from hers only enough to take a breath of air. "Ginny..."

The sound of his voice murmuring her name abruptly woke her from her daze and she tilted her head slightly to stare into his darkened gray eyes, her chest rising and falling as she breathed heavily. Then her eyes slowly widened and, without warning, she jumped away from him, his arm slipping from her waist as he watched her rapidly gather her belonging and dash out of the library.

* * *

A/N - Whew... It's two o'clock in the morning, my cake and soda-induced sugar high is starting to fail me, and I just wrote the most awkward snogging scene _ever_. But hey, they finally kissed! : ) So... Please review and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

-Twilight-Songstress


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

It was with his usual lackadaisical air that Blaise fell into step beside a rather weary looking Ginny Weasley as students bustled through the halls on the way to classes. "Hey, Gin. Mind if I have a word with you?" In response, she came to a halt before offering him a weak smile.

"Sorry, I've gotta get to class."

"Where are you off to?" he inquired, taking in her flustered appearance. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she looked as if she had just woken up from a mid-afternoon nap. It seemed as if the stress of NEWT level studies and breaking House boundaries had finally caught up with her.

"Transfiguration," she answered with a soft sigh, "and you know how McGonagall hates it when we're late."

"I'll walk with you then. Slughorn won't mind if I come in a few minutes after class starts," he reasoned, and she had to agree. After all, Blaise had been a member of the Slug Club.

"It'd be better if you didn't," she argued, though the attempt was feeble. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

"What? Don't want to talk to me?" he teased as they started walking down the hallway towards the Transfiguration classroom. Ginny couldn't help but glance down with mild embarrassment. While she did consider him to be a good friend, Blaise had an innate ability to bring up exactly what she didn't want to discuss, and he certainly didn't fail her this time. So, with a small frown on his lips and sincere concern in his voice, he asked, "Why are you two acting so… weird today?"

"What are you talking about?" she mumbled, hoping to feign ignorance. She could tell it didn't work when the corners of his mouth quirked ever so slightly.

"Draco's been kinda out of it today too," he informed her before chuckling. "The poor bloke spilt pumpkin juice all over himself this morning and then nearly fell down the stairs on the way to class."

"He probably didn't get enough sleep or something," Ginny replied indifferently, forcing the boy beside her to refrain from rolling his eyes. Of course Draco didn't get enough sleep, and the same could obviously be said of her, but he decided it would be useless to press the matter.

"So, do you feel like coming down to the lake today?" he wondered, drawing the conversation away from his friend. "The weather's pretty nice now that it's March and all." To his dismay, she shook her head.

"I've got a lot of work to do tonight, but maybe some other day."

"Suit yourself," he murmured with a hint of disappointment. Her gaze once again diverted to the floor abashedly, but she said nothing as they stopped outside the Transfiguration classroom. Blaise turned to head back in the opposite direction in order to get to his own class, but didn't move quite yet. "By the way," he began, causing Ginny to pause as she prepared to enter the classroom, "try to cheer up, will you? You're so much prettier when you're not moping around." With a mixture of confusion and surprise gracing her face, she whirled around, but he was already walking away as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Slughorn had just gotten up from his desk to close the door when Blaise strolled into the classroom and took his usual seat next to Draco. As expected, their Potions professor offered him a cordial greeting before shutting the door and waddling up to the front of the room to begin class.

"I know you think you're special and everything, but you still have to be on time like the rest of us," Draco grumbled as he took out some parchment to take notes.

"I had to pay a visit to our dear Ginny. You must've noticed that she didn't seem to be her usual happy self this morning," he responded in a hushed tone. "Why do you think that is?"

"I'm not talking about this now." In an effort to tune Blaise out, he busied himself with jotting down the instructions for the potion they would be brewing.

"And why is that?"

"Blaise. Not now," Draco hissed warningly, shooting a quick glare in his friend's direction. Blaise glanced up to see Slughorn sending them a disapproving look as the rest of the class stood to gather supplies for the task at hand.

"Fine, but I'm expecting an answer after class," he stated quietly before also rising from his seat. True to his word, he pushed the topic aside and they managed to finish the potion fairly accurately, but that lasted only until they exited the room.

As if he were trying to strike up a casual conversation, Blaise spoke up. "I don't know what the hell you did to her, but I'm tired of both of you being so bloody miserable all the time."

"I didn't do anything to her," Draco insisted with obvious annoyance. "She was the one who started it."

"Started what?"

"None of your business," he snapped before Blaise caught him by the arm and forced him to stop.

"Let's face it, we both know that you fancy her," the boy declared, ignoring the look of indignation that appeared on the other Slytherin's face. "If you would just admit it, this would be much easier. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."

"I don't need your help," Draco growled through gritted teeth, which caused Blaise to let out a snort.

"But you _are_ interested in her."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't deny it."

Draco narrowed his eyes, daring him to continue. When the curious boy wisely chose to keep his mouth shut, he muttered, "Bugger off," before walking briskly to his next class. While his friend strode away, Blaise sighed and turned on his heel to head in the opposite direction.

* * *

Typically, people needed a few days before they would confront whatever was troubling them – at least, that's what Blaise figured. So, he backed off to give the pair time to work things out by themselves, but after nearly a week passed, he doubted if things were ever going to get back to a less awkward state. Ginny was still slumping around the halls with a false smile making its way onto her face from time to time while Draco seemed to be constantly irritated about something. Just this morning he almost scared a first year half to death after she accidentally bumped into him when exiting the Common Room. It was after this that Blaise intervened.  
"Draco, I think we need to discuss something." The blonde looked up from his meal to see Blaise stand up with an expression of resolve.

"I think it can wait until after I've finished my dinner," he replied loftily. A small, amused smirk formed on Blaise's face.

"I don't think this is something you want everyone to hear about." With a discontent huff, Draco also rose from the table and followed his friend out of the Great Hall. Since dinner hadn't started long ago and everyone was still eating, they didn't need to worry about being overheard.

"What's this about?" Draco demanded as soon as the heavy wooden door shut behind him.

"I'm sure you know already."

He quirked an eyebrow as he leaned against the wall opposite Blaise. "Weaslette?"

The other boy sighed. "Yes, but if you want to get her to like you, I would suggest dropping your habit of calling her that." Draco looked away, shoving his hands in the pockets of his robes.

"...You're going on about that again?"

"She obviously feels _something_ for you, oddly enough, and you're completely smitten with her, so maybe you should act on it instead of just sitting on your arse and doing nothing."

Draco pushed himself away from the walk and turned to leave, mumbling, "Too bad you're wrong about her."

A growl of frustration echoed through the hall. "I didn't go through all this trouble for you to be such a bloody idiot!" The other Slytherin stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around with an icy gaze.

"What was that?" he questioned slowly, his face hardened with anger.

Upon realizing what he had said, Blaise put up a mask of indifference. "I said you're being an idiot."

"Before that," Draco spat, retracing his steps so he was standing in front of his friend. "Exactly what 'trouble' have you been going through?"

Blaise focused his attention on the suddenly very interesting tapestry on the wall as he told him, "I've kinda been trying to set the two of you up."

"And what the hell would provoke you to do that?"

"Oh, come on. I know you're not _that _daft," he remarked with a dry laugh. "I've seen the way you act around each other, and it was pretty clear you weren't going to do anything about it." Draco opened his mouth to contradict him, but after a second thought, snapped his mouth closed and began heading towards the dungeons. Blaise quickly caught up and continued with a sigh. "Draco, I want to help. All you need to tell me is why Ginny's been avoiding us."

"She shouldn't be avoiding you."

He shrugged. "I don't get her sometimes, but that's not important. Now, you can either tell me what happened, or I can get it from some unreliable source who's twisted the truth into something horribly demented that'll forever haunt you." He paused. "The choice is yours."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Merlin, do you have to make it sound so dramatic?"

"It's a talent," Blaise chimed with a broad grin, getting the feeling that his friend wasn't quite so annoyed with him anymore. Sure enough, it was only a brief moment before the blonde prepared to give the long awaited answer, but it wasn't exactly what Blaise had been expecting.

"...She snogged me, alright?" The other boy froze as he processed the information.

"Wait... You kissed her and you're _still_ not together?" he blurted out incredulously before shaking his head. "What's this going to take...?"

"_I _didn't kiss _her_," he clarified sharply. "She's the one who made the first move and then bolted out of the library like the place had caught on fire." When Blaise exhaled slowly and started back-tracking, Draco knew the gears were already churning in his mind. "You'd better not be planning something else!" he shouted at his friend's retreating back, but it was in vain. "Blaise!"

"I _swear_ this is the last time," he called, resisting the urge to turn around to observe Draco's undoubtedly amusing reaction. "I'll talk to you back in the Common Room." When he reached the Great Hall, a few students who had already eaten their fill were beginning to leave, and to his good fortune, these students included an acquaintance of his. "Hey, Brocklehurst?" His tutor faced him with a questioning expression. "Can you do me a quick favor?"

Her gaze was a tad suspicious, but she agreed nonetheless. "I guess I could."

"Can you bring Ginny Weasley out here?" After a second, he added, "Don't tell her it's me though."

"What if she says 'no?'"

"You're a bright girl. I'm sure you can come up with something," Blaise replied with a wave of his hand. She adjusted her glasses thoughtfully before her shoulders fell slightly.

"Fine, but you'd better not be up to anything, Zabini." She disappeared through the entrance before returning a minute later. "She'll be out in a second."

"Thanks," he said with an appreciative grin just as the door opened once more to reveal a confused face framed by dark red hair.

"Blaise?" He greeted her with a cheerful grin as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders in order to lead her away from the Great Hall.

"Good evening to you too. I was just thinking we should take a little walk."

Ginny didn't try to slip away, but she did glance over her shoulder with a forlorn look. "But I'm still hungr-"

"We can talk on our way to the kitchens, okay?"

"But-"

"Gin, I really need to talk to you about something, and then you can do whatever you want," he assured her. Detecting the mild desperation in his voice, she gazed up with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "No. I just think we should have an actual conversation this week. Don't you agree?"

"Sorry about that," she apologized with a faint tint to her cheeks. "I've been busy..."  
"You don't have to lie to me." Blaise let his arm fall from her shoulders, briefly scanning the hall for any students who might over-hear them before bring up the topic at hand. "Draco told me what happened."

"Brilliant..." she groaned under her breath. "I was just surprised... I _still _can't believe you were actually _right_."

"Excuse me? I'm always right about these things." She rolled her eyes at the defensive tone of his voice as a smile came to her lips.

"Sure... Whatever you say." He returned her expression, bringing his hand up to ruffle her hair playfully, to which she responded with a small shove. With a laugh, he wondered, "So, now that you've realized that snogging somebody and then ignoring them is _wrong_, what are you going to do about it?"

"I dunno..." she mused, her smile being replaced with a displeased frown. "Don't you think he should do something for once?"

"Actually, that's why I wanted to talk to you. You know that abandoned classroom where we would meet sometimes when you were tutoring me?"

"Uh huh..." she answered slowly, trying to figure out where he was going with this.

"He wants to meet you there after classes on Monday." Ginny turned towards him with a look of astonishment.

"You're joking."

"Nope, can't say I am."

She bit her lip in contemplation before inquiring, "Why that long from now?" He responded with a convincing shrug.

"Guess he just needs time to sort a few things out." She considered it for a moment before exhaling softly.

"We do need to figure out what's going on..."

Blaise mentally scoffed, unable to fathom how they didn't realize what was going on between them, when Ginny spoke up once more.

"Blaise, before I talk to Draco again, I want to ask you something." Her tone was hesitant, but her eyes met his intently. He offered her a bemused smile, but only to cover up his wariness about her serious expression.

"Come on Gin. You know you can ask me anything."

Her eyes held a hint amusement as she raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Really? The last time I asked this, you dodged the question."

"You want to know why I kissed you." She was momentarily taken-aback by his directness, but she nodded her head. "I thought it would make Draco jealous," he shrugged. Ginny gazed at him as if studying him for a sign of his bluffing. She must have found something, because a moment later she looked away, folding her arms over her chest.

"Fine. You don't want to tell me."

He chuckled. "What gave me away?" At this, her lips curved into a smug grin as she glanced back over at him.

"Nothing. I had no idea if you were lying or not."

Blaise simply stared at her in surprise before a smirk appeared on his face. "I think I'm wearing off on you. That was quite clever for a Gryffindor."

"I think you underestimate us." She stopped in her tracks, causing him to follow suit. "And you're trying to change the topic." A soft sigh escaped her lips when he opened his mouth; she cut him off, anticipating his question. "It won't change anything, I promise."

He hesitated before finally saying, "I kind of had a thing for you last year." Her jaw dropped, and he resisted the urge to burst out laughing in order to clarify his statement. "You have to understand that it was purely physical. I didn't really know you, I just thought you were attractive. You really can't blame me for that."

It took a moment for her to process this new information, but when she did, a look of confusion, mixed with bewilderment, was still plastered to her face. "Wait, so when you asked me to tutor you–"

"Oh no. I was completely over it by then."

"And when you kissed me–"

"I was just curious about what it would be like." He tried to gauge her reaction, but when he couldn't detect anything but utter amazement, he decided it would be better just to get straight to the point. "Hate to break it to you, but turns out I don't care for snogging stubborn little red-heads very much." She let out a subtle sigh of relief, and though he was a little hurt, he hadn't expected anything else. She didn't act the same around the two of them — he knew that, and so he had responded accordingly. He had lied.

Still a little surprised by what had just transpired, Ginny continued walking down the hallway as Blaise fell into step beside her. "So you _don't_ like me, right?"

It was with practiced ease that he responded, "Nope. At least, not in _that_ way." What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. She had said so herself: it wouldn't have changed anything.

A mischievous smile played on her lips as she sent him a suggestive look. "But you still think I'm attractive?" He met her gaze with an equally mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"You know, it's funny, but you've gotten _really_ hideous over the past year. I don't even think I can look at you anymore."

With a few more steps, they disappeared around the corner, her laughter echoing through the hallways.

* * *

Ginny had gone over many scenarios of how her meeting with Draco might pan out, but she couldn't say that any of them had started with him storming into the nearly empty classroom and slamming the door shut behind him. Yet, here he was, standing in front of the wooden door, looking about as furious as she'd ever seen him. Giving him a second to gather his wits about him, she simply sat there and watched as took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Listen, Weasley," he finally gritted out after a moment. "You can just leave now if you want. I don't know what the hell that _git_ told you, but I just found out about this little rendezvous ten minutes ago."

The red-head sighed, glancing at the ground as she swung her legs back and forth from her perch on one of the tables. "I knew he was up to something..." she mumbled before raising her eyes to meet his. "But now that you're here, we may as well talk about what's gonna happen. You know..." she gestured between them, "with us."

He folded his arms over his chest as he lazily fell back against the door. "Nothing's going on," Draco stated bitterly. "I think you made that pretty clear."

"I was confused, alright?" she retorted hotly, knowing they were both letting their tempers getting the better of them, but that didn't stop her from making another comment. "I didn't exactly think _you_'d ever say something like that."

"Yeah, and I didn't exactly think _you_'d bloody well snog me in the library like that and then leave."

Her face turned a brilliant shade of red. "I wasn't thinking!"

"That's obvious," he sneered, at which point a frustrated huff escaped her lips and she buried her face in her hands.

"I can't argue with you anymore... We always end up annoyed with each other and I don't want that," she uttered, causing his vexation to dissipate, though he couldn't help but still be a little miffed about the whole situation.

"Then what do you want?"

She lifted her head from her hands and locked eyes with him, a weak smile on her lips. "Unless I'm wrong, the same thing you do."

Draco's shoulders slumped as he ran a hand through his hair irately. "Why does this have to be so difficult?" She chuckled quietly.

"'Cause neither of us are willing to admit that we like each other?" He glanced over at her to see a twinkling light in her eyes as she waited expectantly. He strode over to her before standing in front of her with a serious expression on his face.

"What should we do? If we _do _give it a shot, it'll have to be kept a secret. Is that really what you want?"

"It's up to you," she chimed, her smile growing. He stared at her for a minute before taking her hand and stepping closer, her head naturally tilting up as he leaned down to press his lips warmly against hers. She responded immediately by reaching up to place her hand on his shoulder as she scooted nearer to the edge of the desk she was sitting on. Noticing this, he settled into the chair beside him and pulled her down on to his lap, allowing her to relax as she leaned against him. Leaving a lingering sensation tingling on his lips, she pulled away with a content sigh.

"I'll take that as a 'yes?'" Ginny piped, sheer bliss bubbling through her words.

"Yeah," he breathed, still focused on her rosy lips, but he was taken off guard when she suddenly let out a melodic laugh.

"You realize we'll have to be on a first name basis now, right Malfoy?"

He rolled his eyes as a grin made its way onto his lips. "I don't see why, _Weasley_."

She made a tutting noise before singing, "That won't do."

Draco lifted a hand and brushed away the strand of hair that had fallen in front of her chocolate brown eyes as he murmured, "Fine... Ginny."

A satisfied smirk flitted across her face as her breath mingled with his. "About time," she whispered before their lips met once again.

* * *

A/N - Yeah... I'm really sorry about the delay... But I made the chapter longer to make up for it : ) Also, I've already started on the next chapter, so that should be up really soon. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and, as always, please review!

-Twilight-Songstress


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

Blaise looked up from his homework as the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room opened with a low creak, but he lowered his head with amusement when he saw that it was just a random student who promptly stumbled off to bed. Draco had been gone for nearly two hours — it was pretty safe to say everything had gone well, but with someone as spontaneous as Ginny Weasley, one could never be too sure. That's why, when the portrait opened to reveal his friend a few minutes later, he was glad to see a slight quirk to the young man's lips.

"You've been gone a long time," Blaise remarked, causing Draco to jerk his head in his direction with mild surprise.

"I didn't think anyone would be up at this hour..."

"Well, when you're best friend decides to sneak off with a girl for a couple hours, wouldn't you want to know how it went?" he laughed as Draco flopped down onto the leather couch beside him. "I'm guessing things went well?"

"Yeah," the blonde informed him casually. "I just dropped Ginny off at her Common Room."

"Oh, so it's just Ginny now?"

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the other boy's taunting tone of voice as he leaned back and simply answered, "Yes."

"And how do you feel about her?" Blaise continued slowly with a growing grin.

He hesitated before exhaling softly. "Fine, I'll admit that I like her..." he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away, "a lot."

"Thank Merlin! I thought you'd _never_ say it," Blaise exclaimed as he stood up, stretching his arms in front of him tiredly before grabbing his stuff from the coffee table. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna get to bed. As appealing as the idea of sleeping through Muggle Studies is, I'd rather not have to deal with that cow again." He started for the hallway leading to the dormitories, but Draco's voice from behind him caused him to pause.

"Hey, Blaise?"

Said boy turned around to see Draco staring at the ground in contemplation. "Yeah?" After a moment, he raised his head with a small smile, though his gaze was serious.

"Thanks for, you know... everything, mate. I really owe you."

Blaise grinned before turning away with false exasperation. "Just try to make it work, will you? I hate it when all my hard work goes to waste."

Draco watched as his friend disappeared in the darkness of the hallway before mumbling, "I don't think you have to worry about that."

* * *

A couple days later, Blaise was sitting across from Mandy Brocklehurst studying his notes for the upcoming Charms exam when she broke the silence in an attempt to start a conversation.

"So, did things go alright with Weasley the other day?" He glanced up from his papers with a grin.

"Yeah, though I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to anyone else." When she sent him a quizzical look, he added, "You know, with our Houses and all." To his surprise, she giggled into her hand.

"I think it's a little too late for that. Even in my House people've been talking about you two." She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "After all, it's not everyday students from Gryffindor and Slytherin date each other." Blaise considered her words for a moment before chuckling to himself.

"I'm sorry to say you're wrong about that. She fancies someone else at the moment."

"Really? Hmm... I could have sworn you two were going out, but I guess not." By her tone, he could tell she wasn't convinced.

"Well, either way, the rumor'll die out soon," he figured with a shrug. "But even if we're just friends, I'd rather not be the topic of people's conversations."

She took the hint and nodded with a sigh. "Point taken. I'll keep quiet." A grin appeared on his face, sending off warning signals in her mind that he wasn't going to let the topic drop quite yet.

"I'm wondering though... Why'd you bring it up in the first place?" he inquired calmly. "Not jealous, are you?"

Mandy looked away quickly, a light blush darkening her cheeks. "I just thought it'd be polite to ask," she grumbled, sinking back in her chair and holding her book up to hide her tinted face. Blaise couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh before a glimpse of red caught his eyes. Turning his head he saw Ginny approaching the table.

"Oh, hey Gin. We were just talking about you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? But shouldn't you be getting ready for your Charms test this week?"

"I'll have you know I've been doing a lot better lately," he replied proudly.

Unfortunately for him, this sense of satisfaction was shot down when Mandy muttered, "That'll change if you don't focus..." He frowned and opened his mouth to disagree, but Ginny cut him off.

"She's right. I'll let you get back to your studying, but I wanted to know if you could pass on a quick message."

With a mischievous glint flickered in his eyes as he returned his attention to the red-head. "It depends on what it is."

Ginny rolled her eyes, though the corners of her lips had lifted slightly, and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Tell Draco to meet me in the kitchens tomorrow night, okay?" He smiled at the message and turned to face her.

"Ten o'clock?" She nodded appreciatively.

"Thanks, Blaise." His eyes followed her as she left the vicinity before they shifted to meet Mandy's skeptical ones.

"...Are you sure you're not dating her?" she questioned with a furrowed brow.

Blaise rested his chin in the palm of his hand with a smirk. "Don't know... I could be. What's it to you?"

A tiny huff escaped her lips as she shook her head with irritation. "You're such a prat." He shrugged as his grin widened.

"So I've been told."

* * *

When a shadow cast itself over his paper, Blaise's quill paused in its path across the parchment as he looked up to see Draco standing before him. "Are you heading off to meet her then?" he asked, placing his quill down on the table.

The boy in front of him shifted his weight awkwardly as he responded with, "Yeah... Any advice?"

Blaise chuckled at his friend's behavior. "Just don't make a fool of yourself. And for Merlin's sake, quit messing with your hair."

Draco froze just as he was about to run a hand through his hair before lowering it. "Can't help it," he mumbled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his trousers to further prevent his anxious habit.

"You don't have to be so nervous," he noted with a grin. "It's not like this is the first time you've spent time alone with her."

"It's not the same..."  
"How so? You were alone with her for nearly two hours just a few days ago. This can't be any different," Blaise reasoned.

The other Slytherin glanced away uncomfortably. "Well last time, we were caught up in the moment and everything... So, it was mostly snogging."

"Okay, definitely could've lived without that thought..." he uttered with a wrinkle of his nose before standing up and clapping his friend on the shoulder reassuringly. "You'll do fine, but I wouldn't recommend pissing her off by being late."

"Point taken." The blonde started to leave, and Blaise rolled his eyes as the other Slytherin ran his hand through his hair. He spoke up again after Draco had taken just a few steps.

"Oh, Draco?" The boy stopped and glanced over his shoulder inquisitively. "Don't stay out to late. We've got that Charms exam tomorrow," he reminded him. To his relief, his friend loosened up a bit as a smile crossed his face for the first time in their conversation.

"What? Trying to act like my mum?" Draco joked, causing Blaise to laugh before waving him away with his hand.

"Just go. It's too weird seeing you in a good mood for once." He chuckled slightly in response before turning back around and departing from the room. Blaise was about to return to his work when a dry voice spoke from behind him.

"So, Malfoy's going on a date with Weasley? Fancy that." He calmly faced the voice's owner with a look of mild distain on his visage.

"Nott, I know it's hard, but try to mind your own business," Blaise retorted in a clipped manner. Theodore Nott simply ignored his comment.

"Even if it's not Weasley, it certainly isn't a Slytherin," the weedy-looking boy stated with a smirk. "You know that won't go over well when the rest of the House finds out."

"How do you know he's going to see someone in the first place?"

Nott mimicked Draco's action of running his hand through his hair before quirking an eyebrow. "It's been seven years. I know how my dorm mate acts when he's nervous."

Mentally cursing the fact that his fellow Slytherin was as observant as he was, Blaise's shoulders slumped. "Fine, I won't deny that's he's going to meet a girl, but it's not Weasley," he finished sharply.

"It's not like I care. I just don't want him causing trouble," Nott replied nonchalantly. "You know how nasty the fights get in here, and if he doesn't want to be targeted, he shouldn't be so obvious about what he does with her in the library." Blaise's eyes widened with surprise as the only other person in the room began to walk past him. "Give him the message, will you? It may not be someone so apathetic who sees him next time."

* * *

Meanwhile, Draco was climbing through the large portrait of a fruit bowl in order to get to the scheduled meeting place. After scanning the vacant entrance area of the kitchens, he figured she must be running a little late, but a tug on his pant-leg interrupted that thought. Looking down, he was startled to see enormous green eyes staring up at him timidly.

"Draco Malfoy?" the house-elf squeaked as he connected the familiar face with a name.

"Dobby?" The elf nodded, causing the tea-cozies that were perched atop his head to wobble unsteadily.

"Missy Wheezy sent Dobby to tell you that she is waiting over there." He raised his hand and pointed a thin, bony finger towards an alcove off to the side of the kitchens where, sure enough, a sliver of red-hair could be seen from around the corner.

"Alright." He glanced back down to see Dobby gazing up at him once again. "Umm... Thank you, Dobby." A pleased smile appeared beneath the elf's long nose as he clumsily started for the alcove.

"Missy Wheezy has said Draco Malfoy has become a nicer person, but Dobby has not seen you since he was asked to follow you last year."

"Mm-hmm..." His eyes narrowed when he actually processed what had been said. "Wait, _what_?" Before Dobby could respond, Ginny had caught sight of them and offered him a brilliant smile.

"Hey, I was starting to think that you didn't get my message." She then turned her eyes to the little house-elf. "Thanks for bringing him over here."

Dobby bowed extravagantly, the tea-cozies flopping to the side of his head, which made Draco think they were sewn together. "It is Dobby's pleasure to help a friend of Harry Potter's!" he exclaimed before bouncing off to return to his work. Draco took the seat opposite the petite girl, and it was at that time that she noticed the frown on his lips.

"What now?" she sighed, letting her chin fall into the palm of her hand.

"Apparently Potter was giving orders to have Dobby follow me last year," he answered with annoyance. Ginny laughed softly, the action seeming a bit forced as she looked away.

"Does that really matter _now_ though?"

He detected the wistful air that had suddenly filled the space and quickly changed the subject. Unable to think of anything better to say, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You look nice today."

Ginny glanced down at her standard school uniform (minus the billowing black robes) before returning her gaze to the boy across from her with a questioning, yet amused expression. "I wear this everyday."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't look good on you," he countered as if his comment had made complete sense, though he was mentally berating himself for saying something so cliché. An awkward silence followed, which Ginny thankfully broke a minute later.

"Can you believe it's already been a month since Blaise trapped us in here?" He mulled over her question for a moment before finding it to be true.

"...It seems longer than that."

"Really?" she wondered, as if surprised by his answer. "Everything seems to be moving by so fast for me..." A broad smile interrupted her sentence. "And for some reason, it doesn't seem so odd that I'm sitting her with _Draco Malfoy_ of all people." She was happy to see a grin make its way onto his face.

"And it's all thanks to Blaise," he murmured, which elicited a laugh from her.

"What would we do without him…? Hey, do you want something to drink? I could get us some butterbeer."

"That sounds good." As she stood from her seat, a memory from their last time in this particular room together brought a smirk to his lips. "Not going to pass out on me again are you?" he teased and to his surprise, she didn't seem the slightest bit embarrassed as she stuck her tongue out at him over shoulder.

"You know that wasn't because of the butterbeer," she called back as she disappeared for a moment into another part of the kitchen. When she returned, she had two bottles cradled in one arm and a place of cookies balanced in the other hand. She put down the butterbeers on the table, at which point he voiced a quick word of thanks, and plucked a cookie off the plate before offering the dish to him.

"Do you come down here often?" he inquired as he also took a cookie. It was pretty hard to find students who actually knew about the kitchen's location, but he couldn't remember ever running across someone who knew where stuff was located in the large cluster of rooms.

She took a bit of her cookie with a shrug and placed the plate down before taking the seat next to him. "Sometimes. It's a little depressing in the Great Hall and the Common Room this year... You know, with people not coming back and all."

"How many people are missing?"

Ginny pondered the question for a moment before answering. "Well, I'm sure you've noticed half of the seventh years have disappeared... There aren't as many missing from my year, but I'm guessing about a third of my House is gone." She continued munching on her sweet snack. "How about Slytherin?"

"It's not much different from usual."

"Things are crazy this year, huh?" she mused sadly. "I never thought it would get this bad."

Draco's eyes fell to the table as he closed his hand around his drink. "I don't think you've seen anything yet... It's just going to get worse from here on out." The girl took a sip of her butterbeer before grabbing another cookie. She'd almost finished the whole thing by the time she spoke in response.

"Draco... I need to know something."

He didn't like the way she'd said it, but prompted her to continue anyway. "What is it?"

As if she was unsure how to begin, she glanced at him shyly. "...With everything that happened last year... Are you-" She cut off her words when he rolled up his left sleeve to his elbow, revealing nothing but pale skin. Exhaling, she diverted her eyes bashfully.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's fine." He grinned slightly. "I'm surprised you didn't notice before."

Ginny returned his expression brightly. "It hasn't crossed my mind." He nodded in understanding before rising from his chair.

"Let's go somewhere else."

An impish glint appeared in her eyes as she stretched out languidly in her seat and picked up another cookie. "I'm quite happy here, thank you," she beamed, waiting for him to make his move. She didn't have to wait long, because a second later, he took her hand and pulled her up out of her seat. He brushed a kiss across her lips, enticing a small laugh from her. After he'd pulled away, she took a bite of the cookie and smiled mischievously. "Where to?"

"You'll see."

* * *

A/N - Hmm... I didn't plan on making this chapter as long as it turned out to be, but hey, what's done is done : ) I know it's not a particularly exciting chapter, but it sets up for a lot of stuff later on, so I had to write it... The only thing I really like about this chapter is Nott thought. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how the scene with him turned out : ) Haha, not to mention is really weird trying to write a canon Draco such an un-canon situation. -.-' How do you guys think I'm doing?

As always, please review! It totally makes my day : ) There'll be more Draco/Ginny goodness next chapter... So, until then!

-Twilight-Songstress


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12_

Ginny fought back a laugh as she leaned against a wall on the seventh floor, her amused eyes following Draco as he walked back and forth along the hallway with a look of pure concentration on his face. The scene was humorous to say the least, and when he stopped a brief moment later, she finally cracked a smile.

"You done?"

He glanced over at her with an expression of mild annoyance, and slight embarrassment, before returning his gaze to the wall. "Don't look at me like that. You know how this place works," he muttered.

"True, but it's still entertaining," she remarked blithely, appearing by his side as a large door formed on the wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Draco reached over and loosely took hold of her hand.

"Close your eyes."

Her lips quirked as she did as he said. "You'd better not be planning to take advantage of me, Mr. Malfoy. I don't think my brothers would be too pleased about that." She heard him scoff.

"Oh, I know better than to do something as stupid as that. You're scary enough as it is. Unless you've forgotten, I've been on the receiving end of your hexes before — a position I'd rather not find myself in again." The sincerity of his words caused a light laugh to echo in the corridor.

"At least you've learned your lesson," she teased as she felt him lead her into the Room of Requirement before stopping just inside.

Once she heard the door shut behind her, he said, "Okay, go ahead." She opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of a cozy little room with a pair of reclined chairs placed next to a fire that served as the only source of light. What was even more spectacular though was the ceiling, which had been replaced by a clear, night sky filled with stars that glimmered brilliantly against the dark expanses of the universe.

"Wow..."

Draco took a few more steps inside the room, his eyes also focused on the view above them. "Yeah, I didn't realize it could do this until last month."

"You know... We could've just gone outside." He glanced over his shoulder to see her still staring at the starry sky, though a smile was playing on her lips.

Mimicking her expression, he replied, "Do you have to be so unappreciative?" before turning back around. "Besides, it's cloudy tonight, but if you'd rather go outside and freeze, that's fine with me." Ginny suddenly thwacked him on the head as she walked by, causing him to rub the afflicted spot with a disgruntled look. "What was that for?" he snapped before she faced him haughtily.

"I never said I didn't like it. I was just making a comment," she declared before her eyes shifted back to where the ceiling should've been with a sparkle of admiration. "It really is beautiful..."

Draco flopped down in one of the chairs lazily. "It's pretty unbelievable what magic can do." He waited for her to respond, but instead she surprised him by sitting down in his lap and leaning back so her head was resting comfortably on his shoulder. "...There's another seat you know," he pointed out in an amused, yet rather awkward tone. She simply grinned, adjusting her self slightly before letting her eyes flutter closed with a sigh.

"I like it here better." She could feel his chest rumble against her back as he let out a chuckle, but was pleased when, instead of pushing her off with a complaint, he relaxed and wrapped an arm around her waist, leaving her to gaze at the stars in his warm embrace.

* * *

Ginny sighed happily as she felt the chill of the stone wall seep through her shirt to send a tingle down her spine, her hand wrapping Draco's tie around itself while she tilted her head up to keep her lips locked with his. He had one hand rest on the wall next to her as his other arm pulled her closer so her body was flush against his. Separating her lips from his, she brush a kiss along his jaw line before murmuring with amusement, "Someone's gonna see us..."

"I don't care," he breathed before pressing a kiss against her neck. She shivered, both from the cold and the warm sensation of his touch as she grinned. She placed a hand on his cheek, effectively causing him to pull away just enough to meet her eyes.

"I don't want you to get in trouble for this," she stated, her breathing a tad shaky but her voice deadly serious. He rolled his eyes in response, still holding her tightly in his arms.

"You don't have to worry about me."

She shrugged as she rose onto the tips of her toes so her lips were hardly an inch away from his — so close that he could feel her smile as she mumbled, "I don't want to see you get hurt either." He barely had time to register her words before her lips were on his once again, at which point he took his hand from the wall to place it on her hip instead. The bliss was short-lived though as the creaking of an opening portrait harshly knocked them back into reality. Ginny swore rather loudly as she wriggled out of his arms and turned to him with urgent expression. "You need to leave. I'll distract whoever it is." He didn't waste anytime arguing and disappeared around the corner, leaving her to spin around just in time to see two of her fellow Gryffidors climbing out of the portrait hole. Seamus Finnigan was the first to notice her, which he did with a bemused look.

"Oi, Ginny. What're you doin' out here?" he wondered as he helped another seventh year, Liete Katrae, through the Common Room's door. The older girl took one look at her messy red hair, which was accompanied by a faint blush, and grinned.

"I could take guess." Ginny shot her a stern look, to which she responded with a tinkling laugh.

Seamus ignored the odd exchange as he walked towards her. "Liete and me are goin' down to the kitchens for a snack. You wanna come?"

"I think I'll pass," Ginny answered, calmly raising her hand in an attempt to smooth out her hair.

Liete started to walk past her. "Your loss." After a moment, the red-head realized that the girl had gone in the same direction as a certain Slytherin had only a couple of minutes before.

"No, wait!" she blurted out, grabbing Liete's arm and pulling her back, thinking quickly. "I-I just saw Filch over there. Almost got caught myself, but something else must've distracted him."

"Thanks for tellin' us. Guess we'll have to go the other way, eh Liete?" Seamus began heading down the other hallway, but Liete lingered and turned to the younger student with amazement.

"I'd heard rumors... But really?" she inquired in a hushed tone.

"_Please _don't say anything," Ginny whispered, hoping she would realize how important it was to keep things under wraps.

"Oh, I won't," she assured her with a chuckle. "I know what it's like to be talked about, and I wouldn't do that to you." The youngest Weasley let out a sigh of relief before offering her a weak smile.

"Thanks."

"Liete? You comin'?" Seamus called from the end of the corridor. The girl raised a finger to her lips in a 'shh'-ing motion, causing him to wince as he realized how much noise he was making, before nodding.

"See ya Ginny," she sang with a quick wave, following after Seamus before meeting up with him and turning the corner. At the same time, Draco came out from his poor hiding spot.

"So, Katrae saw me," he drawled, not sounding the least bit worried about the fact. Ginny whirled around with her lips curved into a frown.

"Yes," she hissed, placing her hands on her hips in a condescending manner. "I thought I told you to leave."

He smirked. "And when do I ever listen to you?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned away slightly and grumbled, "Well, maybe you ought to."

"Fine, I'll leave now then." Ginny's shoulders slumped in exasperation.

"You don't have to-"

"I've got an exam tomorrow anyway," he noted, the corners of his mouth lifting at her mildly frustrated behavior. "Blaise'll be annoyed if I score better then him without any sleep." She laughed softly at the thought.

"So... Good night then?" To her surprise, he stepped forward to plant a quick kiss on her lips before smiling.

"'Night, Ginny."

* * *

The next day, Blaise exited the Charms classroom with a heavy sigh. "Whew, thank Merlin that's over. That list of questions just went on _forever_." Draco scoffed from behind him.

"Don't make it sound worse than it actually was. You should've studied more," he berated dryly.

"Hey, don't get cross with me just because you haven't seen your girlfriend today," Blaise smirked. The other boy didn't say anything, leading him to believe his assumption had been correct. "Knowing you two though, you've probably already made plans to see each other this evening." He interrupted his statement with another sigh, though this one was far more dramatic. "If I'd known you'd both abandon me, I probably wouldn't have set you up in the first place."

"We get it," Draco snapped. "You don't have to keep reminding us."

Blaise grinned broadly. "Just making sure you don't forget," he quipped before someone up ahead caught his eye. "Oh, speak of the devil... Hey, Gin!"

At first, he thought she hadn't heard him over the noise of the crowded hallway, but a second later, her gaze finally fell on them and a smile lit up her face as she made her way over to them. "Hello," she chirped brightly. Turning to Draco with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she loftily added, "Malfoy."

He nodded with practiced indifference. "Weaslette." Ginny adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder as she suppressed a grin and shifted her attention back to Blaise.

"Did you just finish your Charms test?" When he confirmed that they had, but said nothing more, she rolled her eyes, prompting him to continue. "And how'd that go?"

"Brilliantly," he replied, causing Draco to face him with narrowed eyes.

"But you just said-"

"I didn't say it was difficult," Blaise shrugged, before turning back to a laughing Ginny. "So, do you want to do something later today?"

"Sorry, can't," she answered sadly, despite the fact that the ghost of a smile was still on her face from moments before. "I promised the others I'd play Exploding Snap with them tonight." Upon seeing Draco's slightly disappointed expression, she smiled apologetically and added, "And I can't back out. They've already asked me where I disappear to all the time; it'd only make them more suspicious."

"I guess it can't be helped. How about tomorrow?"

"I'm helping Demelza make up her Potions assignment, and I need to get my own homework done too."

Blaise frowned. "But that won't take you all day." She avoided both of their eyes and instead focused on the tapestry of frolicking gnomes behind them.

"And I've got detention..." she admitted in a low voice, but that didn't stop the two Slytherins from hearing her.

"What did you do?" Draco demanded, a hint of worry seeping into his voice that made her smile.

"It's just with Madam Pince," she informed them. "I got into an argument with Zacharias Smith and-"

"Hexed him?" Blaise finished with a grin. She nodded her head with an impish look. "Good, the prat deserves it."

"Someone had to do it," she agreed before back-tracking to the previous subject. "I'm free on Sunday though."

"Great, want to meet by the lake?"

"Sure. After lunch?"

"Sounds good to me," he said with a nod before continuing on his way. "Catch ya later, Gin."

"Alright." She flashed a small smile to Draco as he followed after Blaise, and when she saw him return the gesture, she continued on to her next class with a much more pleasant attitude and a slight fluttering feeling in her chest.

* * *

A/N - In case anyone is wondering about the random mentions of one Liete Katrae (since this isn't the first chapter she's been mentioned), I'll offer you a brief explanation. See, about two and a half years ago (waaaaay before I was posting anything on ), I thought it'd be fun to write some HP fanfiction, but I wanted to keep it canon and add my own little spin on it at the same time. So I filled in the two empty 7th year Gryffidor girl slots with OC characters, one of whom was Liete Katrae. (The other was the Sarisa Esteed mentioned in chapter 1 and chapter 8 in Blaise's conversation with Mandy after she spoke with Terry Boot.) So, I have like 30,000+ words of scenes involving those two characters throughout their Hogwarts years... Not that those will ever see daylight : )

Anyways, I love hearing your comments! I'll also answer any questions you guys have as long as you review non-anonymously (otherwise I can't respond...) As always, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and please review : )

-Twilight-Songstress


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

When Blaise had suggested meeting out by the lake, he had assumed his friends (who were usually quite good actors) would be overly weary about being seen together in public. Unfortunately, he realized that, for once, he had been wrong, as they seemed to gravitate towards each other regardless of the other students scattered about the vicinity.

"Alright, this is the last time I'm saying this," he began, his tone rich with exasperation. "Can you _please_ act like you hate each other again?" Ginny sighed as she scooted away from Draco before taking another grape from the picnic basket they had brought and plopping it through her frowning lips. Sure, they had eaten lunch before meeting outside to enjoy some relaxation, but that didn't mean she wasn't snackish.

"We know, Blaise. You won't have to tell us again," she mumbled, while Draco simply looked annoyed at having been told off by his friend. Ginny noticed this and a small smile came to her lips. "Oh, come on. Don't pout. I've been spending a lot of time with you." After a second though, she added, "And you can't deny we've been kind of ignoring Blaise lately."

"Thank you!" She rolled her eyes at Blaise's exclamation, while Draco seemed to be more preoccupied with her earlier words.

"Malfoys don't pout," he stated haughtily, causing her teasing smile to widen.

"Then what are you doing now?"

An indignant look appeared on his face. "I'm not pou-"

"You're pouting, mate," Blaise interrupted simply with a grin. Ginny also cut off the blonde, only serving to fuel his temper even more.

"What's wrong?" she taunted as he stood up. "Don't like being-" She suddenly let out a startled yelp as he effortlessly lifted her off the ground. "Malfoy, put me _down_!" He ignored her and began walking towards the frigid lake. Ginny's eyes grew to the size of saucers as she realized what he was planning; she started to squirm desperately in his arms. "Malfoy!" she shrieked, earning more than a few glances from the other students on the grounds. "I swear to God, if you don't put me down this instant I'll-" Her stomach did an odd little flip as his hold on her abruptly loosened and she was unceremoniously dumped in the icy water with a large, resounding splash.

A few seconds later, she resurfaced, spluttering and shooting him a look that would have caused most people to recoil, but Draco just smirked as he folded his arms over his chest arrogantly. "You'll what?" She scowled as she brushed her sopping wet locks away from her face before climbing out of the water, her water-logged clothes weighing her down. Once she had steadied herself on her feet, a warm, dry cloak was thrown at her. "Now that you've learned your lesson, we don't want you catching a cold," he commented smugly.

Ginny glared at him with contempt, and for a moment he fancied the thought that she was actually going to slap him, but a moment later, her lips twitched. "Thanks," she chimed before giving him a rough shove and sending him toppling into the lake.

As soon as he appeared again, he wiped the water away from his eyes before bellowing, "_Weasley_!"

With a sweet smile and suppressed giggles, she leaned over and replied, "Yes?" She soon regretted the action, because before she could register what was happening, he reached up and pulled her back into the lake. It was with flailing arms and an incredulous shout that she met the water. "That was just immature," she spat upon resurfacing, her eyes no more than angry slits.

"_I'm _the immature one?"

"You started it!" she retorted before splashing him in the face with water. It was at this point that Blaise finally intervened from where he'd been watching the whole ordeal on the bank with a look of sheer bliss on his face. The scene had obviously gathered more than a few spectators, and he felt it was better to put an end to it (no mater how entertaining) before his friends embarrassed themselves even further.

"Come on you two. Stop acting like children," he admonished as Draco splashed her in retaliation, though his tone was more jovial than reprimanding. The couple turned to him almost simultaneously, halting the water fight that had broken out.

"We are not!"

Blaise laughed as they turned to each other with sour looks before offering his hand to Ginny in order to help her out of the water, which she accepted gratefully. Draco too got out of the lake, and when he did, he heard his girlfriend mutter "git" under her breath, which brought a slight grin to his lips.

"I can't believe you did that," Blaise mumbled to him so Ginny couldn't hear, shaking his head with disbelief.

"It's not like I haven't done stuff like this before," Draco remarked offhandedly as he combed his fingers through his soaking hair.

"Oh, I know that," he responded with another laugh. "It's just... given the circumstances..."

"Get on with it."

Blaise grinned. "She's wearing white," he informed his friend matter-of-factly, causing his brow to furrow.

"What's that got to do with-" A look of understanding dawned on his face as he whirled around to see that Ginny had taken off her cloak to wring out the water, leaving her in the uniform skirt and blouse – a blouse that was made of a material that happened take on a translucent quality when wet. He turned his attention back to Blaise. "Well, _do something_."

"Excuse me, but she's _your_ girlfriend," he whispered back. "It's not my fault half the guys in the area are gawking at her and she's completely oblivious."

"Just go give her your cloak," Draco hissed, pushing him towards the red-head.

"What? Don't tell me you're not enjoying the view," he joked, earning a glare from his friend.

"Stop being a perverted _git _and-"

"What are you arguing about now?" Ginny snapped. Despite the fact that she had time to calm down, she was still irked about ending up in the lake... twice.

"Nothing," Blaise answered, hesitating before continuing. "By the way, your shirt..." She looked down as he gestured and immediately turned a rosy shade of red.

"Why the _hell_ didn't you tell me sooner?" she demanded through gritted teeth, a thoroughly mortified looked in her eyes as she hastily threw on her still soggy cloak.

"_I_ wanted to, but Draco wanted to just wait till you noticed."

"_Blaise_..." the other Slytherin muttered dangerously while Ginny let out an annoyed huff, still looking extremely embarrassed.

"Why do both of you have to be such prats..." she grumbled as stomped past them. "I'm gonna go change." Blaise picked up the picnic basket and fell into step beside her.

"I'll walk you to your Common Room," he offered before grinning. "You know, make sure none of the blokes out here try to jump you on the way back," he added as he shot a pointed look over his shoulder at his best friend. Draco scowled before following after them, silently wishing he still had a dry cloak as he made his way back up to the castle.

* * *

After explaining what had happened to a very irate McGonagall when she found them trekking mud through the corridors ("We just lost our footing, Professor. Honest."), Ginny joined Blaise in the library for a little studying, though he chose to spend much of the time teasing her relentlessly about her unfortunate incident at the lake.

"You really shouldn't be mad at Draco though. It wasn't his fault," Blaise finally noted after over an hour had passed. Upon receiving a dark look from the girl across from him, he relented. "Alright, so it kind of was. Feel free to despise him."

"I'm not mad at him," she sighed. After a second thought, she bitterly added, "But he still shouldn't have thrown me in the lake."

"At least you got him back for it," he shrugged, purposely neglecting to point out the fact that his friend didn't really seem to mind it that much in the long run.

Ginny smiled. "It was almost worth getting soaked just to return the favor," she mused happily, causing Blaise to chuckle.

"Either way, you can't tell me you weren't going to forgive him. Unless I'm wrong, you're meeting him again tonight."

"Did he tell you, or do you just know these things?" Ginny wondered with amusement.

Blaise raised an eyebrow in response. "What do you think?"

"Well, he doesn't exactly seem the type to brag about his meetings with beautiful girls," she said with a grin. He considered this for a moment.

"Oddly enough, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic."

"I don't think he would," she said with a shrug, "but I've been wrong before."

"He doesn't, but with him being so conceited and all, it wouldn't be surprising if he did." His lips curved in a mischievous manner. "Actually, the only girl he's really talked about with me has been you."

Ginny flushed as her mind tried to find an excuse. "Probably because he knows how you like to meddle so much."

"Only this time," Blaise admitted sincerely. "I usually don't get involved." This comment seemed to take the girl slightly off guard, a reaction that he had no trouble seeing in the perplexed expression on her face. He couldn't help but grin. "Well, now that this has turned into a very awkward conversation, I'd say this would be a good time to head to dinner." Ginny latched on to the suggestion appreciatively.

"Good idea."

* * *

A few hours later, Draco entered the Room of Requirement to find the set up similar to a Common Room's, with a set of plush sofas and a warm fire dancing in the hearth, but his attention was drawn to the petite red-head that was slouched back in one of the seats. "Hey, Ginny," he greeted, closing the door behind him. He waited a moment for her to respond, but was met with silence. Walking up behind the sofa, he tried again. "Ginny?"

She jumped before snapping her head around to look at the other occupant of the room before exhaling softly. "Don't sneak up on me like that..."

He raised an eyebrow at her curious behavior. "Sneak up on you? I said hello when I came in."

"Oh, I didn't hear you," she uttered as he came around to the other side of the sofa and flopped down beside her.

"Okay, what's bothering you?" he inquired tiredly, leaning back in the seat as he sent her an expectant look.

"What? Nothing's bothering me," Ginny replied with a weak laugh.

"I'm only asking once, so either tell me now or I'm not going to care later."

She frowned at his aloof attitude. "Well, you're sensitive..."

"Your window of opportunity is quickly fading."

"Fine. Someone brought you up in the Common Room," she murmured unhappily. "Apparently everyone thinks you're trying to use me or something like that. Not just you, but Blaise too."

"And what'd you say?" he prompted calmly, even though he was genuinely concerned about her answer. Sure, he wasn't thrilled that people were entertaining the thought that he was using her (far from it actually), but it wouldn't do her any good to know that.

"I denied that we had anything to do with each other, which they didn't really believe..."

"That's their problem, not yours," Draco responded, causing her to cross her arms over her chest as a huff escaped her lips.

"You don't know what they say about you. Especially about what happened last year."

"I'm sure I could guess," he grumbled before pausing to meet her eyes. "Do you believe them?"

"I did..." she admitted sheepishly. "And I'm sure some of what they say is true, but it's not like Harry or Ron ever told me what happened," Ginny finished sardonically before shifting in her seat to face him better. "I mean, I promised myself I wouldn't ask about it, but I would rather hear exactly what happened from _you_ than believe all the stories I've heard."

"What? So you can judge me?" he replied more harshly than he'd meant to. She didn't seem to mind, or she'd gotten used to it at least, because she chuckled a second later as she shook her head.

"The last thing I would do now is judge you. I've done that before and you've clearly proven me wrong." Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed slightly as she continued. "Though after what happened earlier today, I'm having my doubts."

"Blaise told us to act like we hated each other," Draco reminded her.

"I don't think that's what he had in mind," she countered before sighing wearily. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

He hesitated, considering this option, but decided she'd have to find out sooner or later. "What've you heard?"

Ginny thought for a moment before somberly listing off the different stories she'd heard. "That you're a Death Eater; that it was _you_ who got the Death Eaters in the school last year... That you were plotting to kill various people, including Harry... Among more ridiculous things, but those are the ones that seem to pop up a lot."

"I'm not a Death Eater, you know that."

"...But?" She waited for him to finish his thought, but she had a feeling she already knew what he was going to say. After a minute, he rested his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his hands.

"It _was_ me who brought the Death Eaters into the school." Ginny looked away, unsurprised by his answer. She had hoped it wasn't true... After all, her brother had been severely injured because of it, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

"Why?"

"He said if I succeeded, he'd make me one of them." His already quiet voice was muffled even more, but she still heard him clearly enough.

"Why would you want that?" He lifted his head and faced to her.

"How do you think I was raised? To my father, that would have been the greatest achievement possible," he said with a bitter laugh, diverting his gaze once again.

Ginny reached over to take his hand sadly, focusing her attention on their intertwined fingers instead of his face. "What about... the last thing I said?" she wondered quietly.

"It wasn't Potter." His quick answer caused her to eyes to jump to meet his gaze.

"What?"

"I was supposed to kill Dumbledore... not Potter." He managed to keep his tone even, but she could tell he was as shaken up to say it as she was to hear it.

"B-but... So when Dumbledore died last year, that was-"

Draco shook his head. "It was Snape. I... couldn't do it." The youngest Weasley took a moment to let it all sink in. It seemed unfathomable that this boy sitting beside her, or even the Draco Malfoy she'd known in the past, could ever come so close to doing something so horrible. At the same time, the fact that he didn't do it made perfect sense in her mind.

"...I respect you for that," she whispered, causing him to turn his head towards her. "I'm not saying that everything else you did was acceptable, but... at least you didn't go through with it."

It took a second for him to process the fact that she wasn't rejecting him, but once he did, his lips formed a weak smile. "Thanks, Gin."

She returned the expression slightly before curling up beside him and letting her head fall on his shoulder. "Just don't try to dump me in the lake again..." she mumbled. He chuckled softly before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her a bit closer, just happy to have someone so understanding by his side.

* * *

"Draco!" The Slytherin paused reluctantly on his way to the Common's Room exit and glanced over his shoulder to find that Pansy Parkinson had just come through the hallway leading to the dormitories. With an air of exasperation, he faced her. "What is it, Pansy?"

Her lips formed a displeased frown as she whined, "You disappeared again after dinner yesterday. I hardly ever see you anymore."

He resisted the urge to quip that there may be a reason for that, instead replying with, "I was busy," and turning his back on her. The girl's mood quickly darkened as she glowered at him.

"You weren't out with _her_ again, were you?"

Draco froze before rotated around, trying to brush it off as a silly comment. "What are you going on about?" he inquired in a condescending manner.

"That stupid _Weasley_ bint," she spat, her nose wrinkling with malice. "Were you out with _her_?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed with a small chuckle, hoping to convince her of the absurdity of her accusation. "Blaise is the one who wants her, not me."

Pansy gazed at him suspiciously. "Don't lie to me, Draco. You spend time with her too. I've seen you!"

"That doesn't mean I'm interested." And with that, he briskly left the Common Room before she could continue. Blaise was waiting outside the portrait, just where he said he'd be so they could head to lunch after Draco had dropped of his stuff. "You heard that, didn't you?"

"Every word," Blaise confirmed with a nod. "So even you've adopted the cover of _me_ being the one dating Ginny?"

"It makes sense... Wait, what do you mean 'even you?'" he asked sharply upon realizing what his friend had said.

"Mandy came to the same conclusion," he told him with a shrug. When Draco still seemed to be unsettled by the fact, he sighed, though lips quirked at the same time. "Don't worry, I'm not going to steal your girlfriend. That's low, even for me." When the blonde didn't reply, he resumed with the previous topic. "I'm not surprised she noticed though. She usually follows you around like the plague."

"But she won't try anything," Draco stated, though judging by the frown on his face, he seemed unsure.

"I wouldn't put it past her, but Ginny's more than capable of protecting herself," he pointed out. "Besides, Pansy's not the only one who's noticed, and nothing's happened to her so far." The blonde narrowed his eyes at this new information.

"Someone else has noticed and you didn't think it would be a good idea to tell me?"

"Nott saw you two in the library a couple weeks ago," Blaise explained casually. "He's known all along."

"Brilliant..."

"I'd be more worried about Pansy than him. He won't bring it up unless it's to his advantage, and I seriously doubt that'll happen anytime soon." Draco knew his friend's reasoning was probably right, but that didn't make the dent in his and Ginny's secrecy any less disconcerting. People were noticing, and he was sure they weren't just going to leave him alone about it.

* * *

A/N - Well, here it is! The next chapter... I have to say, I really enjoyed writing the first scene : ) I would love to see something like that in the movies, but we know that's not going to happen... Either way, it was still fun to write : ) I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did and please review!

-Twilight-Songstress


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14_

With a flutter of excitement and a quietly grumbling stomach, Ginny made her way to the Room of Requirement with a basket in hand. She had just finished the last of her exams a few hours ago and the next morning, she would be heading home on the train for Easter holiday. At the moment, however, she had finished her task of getting food from the kitchens — something that seemed to confuse the house elves since everyone else at the school was currently at dinner. Though she knew her absence and that of a particular blonde Slytherin would probably raise some suspicions, they had both decided that they'd take that risk to spend a bit more time together before the nearly month long break.

After pacing back and forth along a small stretch of hallway, a door materialized and she entered with a bright smile. "Sorry I'm a little late," she apologized, closing the door behind her, "but I got the food." Draco turned his head to peer at her from the sofa as she came up behind him and grinned before pulling her head down to plant a kiss on her lips. Once he pulled away, her lips curved and she walked to the other side of the couch to place the food on the table. "Can you believe Easter hols are starting already?" As soon as the words left her lips and she saw his expression darken, she knew she'd said the wrong thing.

"Unfortunately..." he muttered, his eyes falling to the floor. Ginny sent him a sympathetic look as she pulled two plates out of the basket.

"Are you going home?" she inquired softly, to which he responded with a sigh.

"It's not like I have a choice."

The bitterness in his voice caused her heart to sink as she focused on pilling food onto the dishes. "You know..." she started sheepishly, "If things were different, I'd ask you to come home with me..." She heard a dry laugh come from right.

"Your brothers would kill me," he remarked matter-of-factly, though she could tell he was appreciative of her statement.

With a broad grin, she glanced over at him. "I'd keep them in line," she quipped before her voice took on a more thoughtful quality. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you'd only have to worry about Ron and the twins. Charlie hardly ever holds a grunge against anyone, and Bill would understand..."

His brow furrowed slightly. "Don't you have six brothers?"

"Well, we never see Percy anymore... That prat..." she grumbled, a soft clank sounding as she scooped mashed potatoes onto one of the plates a bit more violently than intended.

"Had a bit of a falling out, did you?" She took note of the way he said this without the jeering tone that would've been present in earlier years — reminding her that, while he was still a jerk at some points, Draco really wasn't the person he'd been before.

She exhaled tiredly. "He's always put his work above everything else. I wasn't surprised," Ginny admitted, handing him a plate.

"Thank you," she heard him say before he held out a glass for her to take. She accepted it quizzically before noticing the previously unseen bottle that was sitting on the table beside another glass. "...Firewhiskey?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How'd you get this?"

He gazed at her with that familiar smirk of his before filling her glass with the smoky liquid. "I _am_ seventeen, in case you've forgotten. It's not illegal for me to purchase it."

Ginny rolled her eyes, sitting down next to him. "But you're not supposed to have it in the school," she admonished as she raised the glass to her lips and took a swig rather expertly, causing him to raise his eyebrow with an amused look.

"Clearly you've had it before."

A grin played on her lips. "You're not the only one who breaks the school rules. Fred and George snuck this in loads of times."

Draco chuckled before sipping his own drink as the red-head beside him placed her glass on the table in order to start eating her food. After chewing a bit of chicken pensively and swallowing, she broke the silence. "I guess I won't be able to send you letters, huh?"

"Not with the manor under constant surveillance..." he mumbled, picking at his food. "We're not exactly trusted anymore."

"I hate the fact that you're going back there," she blurted out, the tone of annoyance obvious in her voice. "What if you just didn't go?"

"I'd rather not find out," he murmured causing her to let out a frustrated huff.

"I can't wait until this is all over. It would be so much simpler; we wouldn't have to hide anything." She glanced over at him, a tiny mischievous tinkle in her eyes. "Or would you still be ashamed to be seen with a Weasley?"

Draco faced her with a small smile. "Not you."

She couldn't help the delighted expression that came to her face. "So, if all of this ended tomorrow, what would you do?"

"...I think I'll tell you when it actually ends," he replied with a hint of facetiousness. Honestly, he had no idea, though it would probably have something to do with him snogging her like his life depended on it. Heck, even now the idea sounded appealing as her cheerful laughter rang through the room.

They continued to casually converse as they finished their dinner, along with the bottle of firewhiskey, leaving Ginny a bit giddier than she'd been before and the usually guarded Slytherin with weaker defenses. A few hours later, the red-headed girl was beginning to show signs of tiredness as she leaned her head against his shoulder while he had an arm loosely draped around her.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do without you and Blaise," she uttered glumly. Draco's mind had been harboring similar thoughts all week — with the Dark Lord using his house as a base and the absence of his usual companions, he doubted Easter holiday would be anything but downright miserable. Of course, he hadn't told either of them that, not that he needed to.

"It's just a little less than a month. It's not like you won't be able to write Blaise."

She looked away with a quiet sigh. "I meant after this year..."

Not wanting to think about it yet, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind and suggested that she do the same. "Don't worry about that now."

Ginny rotated in her seat as she smiled at him, though he was paying a bit more attention to the impish way her brown eyes shone in the fire light. "You're right." She leaned a bit closer and his eyes unconsciously rested their gaze on her rosy lips as she mumbled, "Worrying just makes things worse anyway."

His eyes lifted to meet hers briefly as the corners of his mouth quirked. "Better to just act on impulse, wouldn't you say?" He was answered with a tiny grin before she covered his lips with hers.

Within seconds, Draco was lazily trailing his hand down her side, causing a shiver to course through her body, before resting it on her hip as he smirked against her lips. She couldn't help the sheepish tint that rose to her cheeks; it was if the conceited prat knew exactly how he could make her mind spin with just the faintest of touches. Or maybe it was the firewhiskey... She wasn't quite sure, but either way, she moved to straddle his waist as he reached up to lace his hand through her red locks. Using his free hand, he braced himself in response to the added weight before deepening the kiss and eliciting a soft moan from her in the process.

It was at that point that he shifted so she was now pinned between him and the sofa, though she didn't seem to mind. Her leg bent at the knee as her fingers brushed against his cheek, causing her skirt to ride up just a fraction. His grip on her arm tightened ever so slightly as she ran her hand down his chest before it moved on to toying with his hair, something that seemed to have a sedative effect on his mind. When he noticed this, he started to pull away, but Ginny, in an effort to hold the kiss a little longer, made a quiet sound of protest and raised herself up onto one elbow. He relented, but due to the unfortunately small size of the sofa, her elbow slipped off the cushioned surface and they were sent tumbling to the ground, landing with a loud thud in an awkwardly tangled mess of limbs.

Draco groaned as he picked himself off the ground, rubbing the side of his head where it had hit the table while the girl beside him had her eyes squeezed shut in a wincing expression. "Shit... Sorry about that."

Ginny relaxed as the mild pain from her sudden contact with floor eased. She opened her eyes to see him gazing down at her, his grey eyes much darker than she'd ever remembered seeing them. With an apologetic smile, she breathed, "That was my fault."

He smirked, still hovering above her. "I never would have pegged you as the clumsy type, Weasley," he mocked. She reached up and pulled him closer with a playful grin.

"And I never thought you'd be such a damn good kisser, Malfoy."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere," he remarked, planting a quick kiss on her smiling lips before getting to his feet and offering her his hand. "Come on. We need to get you to bed."

Her demeanor quickly changed to one of annoyance at his authoritative tone, but she accepted his hand anyway. "I'm not a kid anymore," she objected once he'd helped her up. "I'll go to bed when I want to."

"You had nearly three glasses of firewhiskey. If you don't get back soon, you're just going to pass out here," he countered. With the lulling warmth of the fire and the dim lighting, even he was on the verge succumbing to drowsiness.

"I'm fine with that," she retorted, moving to flop down on the couch, but her action was prevented by his hold on her wrist.

"I don't like being ignored, Ginny," he sighed, though his voice was still stern. "You can't stay here."

"I could if you stayed with me."

His lips twitched as he fought back a chuckle. "And have to put up with all the grief I'd get from Blaise? Not bloody likely."

Ginny felt her cheeks heat up at his insinuation. "It's not like anything would happen," she snapped indignantly.

This time, a chuckle did escape his lips before he drawled, "Of course... but I'm still taking you back to your Common Room." She pulled her hand from his and crossed her arms over her chest with a sour look.

"...Fine."

"We'll see each other again before the train leaves," he promised in hopes of quelling her temper. His attempt failed miserably.

"I know," she responded coldly, turning away from him. Draco tried to ignore his frustration at her change in attitude as he headed for the door.

"Now come on. We should hurry back before Filch starts doing his rounds. I'd rather not have detention as soon as we get back." She grudgingly followed him out of the room, the Room of Requirement disappearing behind them.

"It can't be that late..."

"It's nearly 11 o'clock." Her eyes widened at the information. After a moment though, her lips curved.

"I guess what they say is true — time does fly when you're having fun."

He smiled. While her tone was impassive, he took this as a sign that she had quickly gotten over their little spat in the Room of Requirement. "I think you're the one to blame for us looking track of time."

"And how do you figure that?"

"Well, _you_ were the one who started snogging _me_..."

Ginny wasn't about to give up quite yet. "But you can't tell me you would've stopped if I hadn't-"

A low snort cut her off. "What? Fallen off the sofa?" She frowned and decided to remain silent; he glanced over at her with amusement focusing once again on the empty hall in front of him. "You're right though. I probably would've waited for you to pull away first."

A quiet laugh sounded through the corridor. "You know..." she began musingly. "It really isn't _that_ late." He paused in his step when he noticed that she'd stopped. "I'm sure I wouldn't be any worse off if I made it back to the Common Room just a few minutes later."

Draco easily caught on to her train of thought and with a smirk, he pulled her closer. Just when her lips were barely an inch away, the sound of footsteps caused them both to jump.

"Brilliant..." he muttered before she dragged him towards one of the classrooms.

"We can hide in here," she suggested, her hand closing around the brass knob as she opened the door. It slipped off barely a second later as her jaw dropped at the sight that greeted them, for one Blaise Zabini was also in the room, glued at the lips to none other than Mandy Brocklehurst.

Ginny was knocked out of her bewilderment by the sound of the door shutting behind her. "...What the hell is going on?" the blonde behind her demanded, leading her to believe that she wasn't the only one who was just finding out about this.

Mandy hastily pushed the other Slytherin away with a clear look of mortification on her face while Blaise diverted his gaze to the floor, shaking his head with a small chortle. The red-head saw Draco open his mouth to continue his interrogation before holding a finger to her lips, causing him to refrain. "Remember why we're in here in the first place," she berated in a hushed tone.

At this time, Blaise seemed to recover from his unusual bout of silence and raised his head, looking at them with a grin. "Well, this is an odd coincidence."

"Yeah, I'd say," Draco bit back, his eyes narrowing. "When was I going to find out about this?" His friend shrugged, clearly undisturbed by the boy's anger.

"All in due time. I mean, she was just helping me study-"

"What? The inside of her mouth?" He let out a huff before grumbling, "And you always harp at me when I don't tell you stuff... Remind me why you're my best friend again." Blaise's grin widened.

"Because I'm perfect."

Draco rolled his eyes with a scoff. "Yeah, that's it..."

"I knew it!" The occupants of the room all turned to Mandy, whose outburst was accompanied by an expression of realization as she placed the glasses that she held loosely in her hand back on the bridge of her nose and hopped off the desk she had been sitting on. "I _knew_ there was something going on." The Ravenclaw suddenly whirled around to face Blaise. "You lied to me!"

"Not really."

She knit her eyebrows together in confusion. "But yesterday you told me they weren't dating."

"I simply asked you why you thought they were," he clarified nonchalantly.

"And I said that they seemed like they get along a little too well, at which point you replied-"

"That in actuality, they still argue quite a lot," Blaise finished before casting a blithe glance in Draco's direction. "I believe I mentioned the incident at the lake as well. So all in all, I neither denied nor confirmed it."

"...You're irritating sometimes, do you know that?" she frowned, to which Ginny nodded with agreement.

"I've said the same thing."

Blaise smiled as he wrapped an arm around Mandy's shoulders and led her to the door with a faint sigh. "I'll explain it while I walk you back."

As they passed, Draco muttered, "Keep it vague, will you?"

"You got it, mate." And with that, they left the classroom with the door clicking shut in their wake.

"Well... That was interesting," Ginny commented, directing a weak smile at the boy beside her.

"That's one way to describe it."

Laughter bubbled through her words as she continued, "But while we're here..." She trailed off, instead catching his gaze with a mischievous glance. With an earnest smile he snaked his arm around her waist, meeting her blissfully amused lips with his own.

* * *

A/N - I would love to hear what you guys thought about the chapter : ) Some parts are pretty awkward ([cough] the snogging scene [cough]), but I think it turned out alright over all... Either way, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll try to have the next chapter up pretty soon : )

-Twilight-Songstress


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15_

Draco had just boarded the Hogwarts' Express when he suddenly felt something latch onto his arm, accompanied by a horrible whining voice. "Draco, I thought you were going to wait for me." His face contorted into a slight grimace, but he didn't try to fight against Pansy's iron grip.

"I figured it'd be easier for you to find me on the train," he explained. He was actually hoping it would be the opposite, but clearly that wasn't the case.

"I suppose so... Anyway," she simpered, "I haven't told you about my plans yet, have I?" An airy giggle escaped her lips. "Of course, I'll have plenty of time to tell you all about it once we're settled in our compartment."

He was about to respond, but was prevented from doing so when someone came up behind them with a snicker. "I'm sure it'll be absolutely _fascinating_." Draco shot a glare over his shoulder at his best friend, who was lugging his trunk onto the train with a smirk on his face. "Shall we take our usual compartment?"  
Pansy sighed as if the question required rather laborious thinking. "I was actually hoping we could move farther to the back of the train." She smiled at Draco in a sickeningly sweet manner, giving him the impression that her request was not as innocent as she wanted it to seem. "That would be all right, wouldn't it?

"I would prefer to stay in the middle of the train," he stated emotionlessly.

"I second that."

The girl huffed, releasing Draco's arm. "Fine," she replied in a miffed tone "I'll meet you there. I told Tracey she could sit with us," she quirked a brow, "unless that's a problem?" Judging from her expression, it didn't look like she particularly cared if they liked it or not. Draco must've sensed this, as he simply looked away without answering her query while Blaise, who felt the need to draw attention away from his friend's odd behavior, hastily spoke up.

"Of course not." After Pansy turned up her nose and left, the two Slytherin boys continued down the train.

"You'd better start acting like the arrogant git she knows and loves, mate, or she's gonna get suspicious," Blaise advised him in a hushed tone, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "You heard her ask to move farther to the back of the train. Isn't that where you're planning on meeting Ginny?"

He had noticed that as well, but brushed it off as mere coincidence. "If it makes her leave, I don't care what she thinks of me."

"It's not that bad; I just tune her out after a while." Draco rolled his eyes, finding that task to be near impossible, but didn't say anything. "Besides, she'll have Tracey with her. After a while she'll probably just start to ignore you all together."

Unfortunately, Blaise's assumption proved to be incorrect, for she continuously felt the need to drag him into her conversation. It was almost as if she knew he had plans and was playing some twisted mind game to see how long he could take the torture of her squeaky voice before cracking. After nearly an hour, a moment of blissful silence came when she abruptly rose from her seat.

"I'll be back shortly," she announced as if anyone actually cared _why_ her ranting had come to a stop. Tracey Davis, a slender brunette girl with a haughty expression, also stood.

"I'll come with you. It'll be nice to stretch my legs after sitting in such an uncomfortable space for so long." Pansy made no sound of disagreement, so the two girls departed without further conversation.

Not even a second after the door had closed, Draco whipped his head around to face his friend with gritted teeth. "Blaise, for Merlin's sake, get her off my back."

The boy drew his gaze away from where he was idly watching the scenery pass by to focus on Draco, offering him a slightly smug grin. "Hey, I have my own girlfriend to go visit," he reminded him as he got up. "I was just waiting for a chance to leave without getting interrogated."

"Oh, so you're dating her now?" he wondered, Blaise easily catching the hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yes," he replied matter-of-factly. "I don't know where you got such a skewed impression of me... To think I'd just go about snogging random girls."

"Oh, I apologize," Draco drawled sarcastically. "I just happen to remember a particular occurrence where you decided to snog Ginny in the Entrance Hall. Does that ring a bell?"

"That was more of an innocent peck though." He smirked. "Now, the _other _time-"

"What 'other time?'" Draco scowled, causing Blaise to realize this probably wasn't the best time to tease him.

Holding his hands up defensively, he chuckled, "Geez, calm down. I'm just kidding."

"You'd better be..."

Blaise sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Listen, when she gets back, just tell her that I went to find the trolley and you forgot to tell me to buy you Liquorice Wands."

"But I don't like Liquori-"

"Or whatever candy you have a preference for, since I'm sure she knows for some creepy reason," he trailed off before shrugging. "And then you leave."

Draco frowned, finding it hard to believe that such a simple plan would fool the girl. "I doubt that'll work."

"And I think you're giving her too much credit," he countered. "In case you haven't noticed, she's not that bright..."

Realizing that the boy had a point, he relented. "Fine, but you'll have to make up another excuse about where I am when you come back."

With a laugh, Blaise said, "What makes you think I'll be back before you? _I'm _not the one Pansy has an unnatural fascination with. I can stay away as long as I want to." Not that he'd really abandon him — it was just that the thought of having to deal with the girl's pestering and accusations wasn't all that appealing.

"I guess I'll just have to cut my time with Ginny short..." Draco grumbled as his friend's shoulders slumped.

"Nah, I'll cover for you," he offered, though he seemed to still be a bit reluctant. "Just keep it under an hour, okay?"

The corners of the blonde's mouth lifted at this. "Yeah, thanks."

Blaise shook his head as he exhaled tiredly, though his exasperated behavior was somewhat subdued by the smile on his face. "The stuff I do for you..." he mumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets and exited the room. The remaining occupant of the room leaned back in his seat, waiting for his two House-mates to return from wherever they'd gone. He didn't have to wait long; the door slid open again just a few minutes later.

Tracey was the first to notice the other boy's absence when she quickly glanced around the room with a mildly confused expression. "Where did Blaise go?"

"He went to go find the snack trolley," Draco replied smoothly. She accepted the bluff and returned to where she'd been sitting, but Pansy still seemed a bit skeptical as she plopped down beside him.

"But we just passed the snack trolley and he wasn't there."

"He must've gone the wrong way." Draco assumed she bought it, since she didn't say anything else about the matter and continued her earlier task of ridiculing other students. After a moment, he stood up, causing her to halt her ranting mid-sentence.

"And where are you going?" she demanded, also bolting up from her seat.

Continuing out the door, he remarked, "I forgot to tell Blaise to buy me some Droobles." Before she could object, he shut the door behind him and started towards the back of the train, which is where Ginny said she would be sitting. When he came to compartment W, he could hear muffled whispering coming from inside and opened the door. Almost immediately, the talking stopped as everyone in the small room snapped their attention to him. "Well, what do we have here?" Draco sneered. He could've sworn he saw Ginny roll her eyes, but she said nothing. "Dumbledore's _pathetic_ Army plotting something else behind our backs? I don't think certain professors would be very happy to hear that."

While he knew it was pretty bad as insults go, it made sense. There just so happened to be an unusual number of former DA members squeezed into one compartment, with four Gryffindors and a pair of Hufflepuffs squished into the four seats and two Ravenclaws standing opposite the door — a passing bystander probably would've made the same conclusion.

After a few seconds, Liete Katrae finally broke the silence, though it was with an air of carelessness rather than disdain. "If you're looking for someone, Malfoy, I can assure you they're not in here."

"I don't believe I was talking to you, Katrae," he replied in the same lofty tone. "You should learn to keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you."

He expected Ginny to be the one to fire back with a sharp retort, but it was Neville who answered with a sour, "Shove off, Malfoy."

"What? Finally grown a back-bone, Longbottom?" he taunted, and judging by the furious look that passed over the boy's round face, he was suddenly a bit fearful that both Longbottom and the Irish boy who was sitting next to Katrae would start throwing punches. Before it could come to that though, Terry Boot had slipped his wand from his pocket and had it steadily trained on Malfoy's chest, a deadly serious expression on his face.

"If you fancy being able to walk, I suggest you leave," the usually mellow Ravenclaw gritted out, to which Draco smirked.

"No magic allowed on the train, Boot." He paused, shifting his weight thoughtfully. "That is... Unless you want to end up on the run like your little girlfriend. I heard she had a close run-in with some Snatchers just a few days ago..."

The boy lowered his wand slightly in shock while Katrae blanched in horror. "You're lying," she breathed, her eyes wide with fright.

"Am I?"

Boot's empty hand curled into a fist as his side as he returned his wand to his pocket before leaving the room, shoving past Malfoy in the process. "You'd better be," he muttered, his voice shaking slightly. Michael Corner followed after his friend but not before sending a heated glare in Draco's direction. The air was thick with tension as he met Ginny's narrowed eyes, which were obviously warning him to leave if he didn't want to get hurt. Figuring no one was going to say anything, he offered them one final smirk before turning on his heel and walking away.

Seamus turned to the clearly distressed girl beside him. "I'm sure Ris is alright. They aren't gonna get 'er without a fight," he told her with a small smile, but Liete just responded with a feeble, detached laugh.

It was at this point that Ernie Macmillan rose from his seat, as did Hannah Abbott. "We'd best be leaving as well," he announced. "Malfoy's right, we wouldn't want anyone to think we're planning something." And with that, the pair left.

Ginny waited for a few minutes, the uncomfortable silence slightly unnerving, before standing up as well and leaving without anyone posing a question. She found Draco in the very last compartment of the car and slammed the door behind her before locking eyes with him. "That was really uncalled for," she chided frigidly.

"It's not like I can go in there and act any different. It's what they expect."

"But you didn't have to say what you did," Ginny snapped, her jaw set angrily.

He looked away. "I'm sure Esteed is fine, and it's not like I haven't said that to Longbottom before," he argued tersely.

"But still-"

"Gin, that's the first time I've insulted any of them in months," he noted with slight frustration, "and it was purely for show." She huffed as she plopped down beside him.

"You're such a prat. Terry should've hexed you."

"Can we just forget about it for now? I told Blaise I'd be back in an hour and I'd rather not spend it bickering with you." If it'd be any other time, she wouldn't have let him get off that easily (after all, she didn't want to see him relapse into his old, spiteful self), but since it was their last time together for the next month, she was willing to let it drop for now.

"...You left Blaise alone with Parkinson?" she inquired, her temper fading slightly.

With a small grin, Draco said, "No, he ditched her too." She couldn't fight back a hearty laugh, and once again, he found himself thankful for the fact that she was so forgiving.

"As long as that cow doesn't come looking for you..."

* * *

It was nearly dusk by the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 ¾ and the students started unloading their trunks. Due to her impatience, Ginny made sure she was ready go when the train came to a halt, having already said her good-bye minutes before-hand so she could beat the rush. So when she got off, it wasn't hard to find a set of red-headed twins waiting for her. With a brilliant smile she rushed over to them, releasing her grip on the handle of her trunk so she could throw her arms around the closer of the two.

"What are you two doing here?" she exclaimed, the happiness on her face spilling into her words.

"Oi, don't I get a hug?" the other boy wondered, causing her to chortle before releasing George to embrace his twin.

"Did Mum really let you come by yourselves?"

"Nah," Fred replied, pulling away, "she'd have a heart attack at the thought. Lupin and Tonks are over there." Ginny turned her head to see a very pregnant Tonks (sporting a long auburn do and altered, but still recognizable, features) standing a little ways away, seemingly arguing with her frowning former-professor, who had a hat pulled down to hide part of his face.

"So, we've heard you've been up to a few things-"

"Or rather, tried to steal a few things-" Fred corrected as George wrapped an arm around her shoulders and continued.

"But either way, we're proud of you, little sis," he finished with a grin.

Fred let out a comically forlorn sigh as he took her trunk for her and started walking. "If only we were still there. I'm sure our dear old Potions' professor could use a little more mayhem in his life." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a call sounded from behind them.

"Hey, wait a second!" The trio turned around to see Liete Katrae pushing her way through the now bustling crowd before sliding to stop in front of them. "Have you heard anything about Ris?" she blurted out almost desperately as Ginny remembered how both Sarisa Esteed and the girl before her were quite good friends with the twins.

It was Fred who answered her question. "She's been in hiding-"

"We can't say where but-"

"We saw her just the other day," they chimed together, matching smiles on their faces.

With a heavy sigh of release, she returned their expression before her eyes lit up as an idea came to her. "Could you two deliver something to her?"

"Of course," George answered brightly.

Her grin widened. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?" When they nodded, she hurried off, no doubt to find the other person who was equally worried about the girl.

"You go on ahead, Gin."

"We'll wait for Liete to come back."

"Alright," she agreed and began walking over to the married couple, who quickly ended their tiny row at her arrival. "Hello! I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Tonks smiled. "Wotcher, Ginny."

"No offense, but I'm a little surprised to see you here in your condition."

Before the older woman could respond, her husband cut her off. "I told her she should stay home, but-"

She pursed her lips, retaliating with, "I will not stay home just because I'm _pregnant_, Remus. I'm not ill, or injured, or-"

"I think he gets it," Ginny interrupted with a light-hearted laugh, which Tonks responded to with a sheepish grin.

Hoping to change the subject (and there by keep himself out of trouble), Lupin asked, "What are Fred and George waiting for?"

"A friend to bring them something. They shouldn't be much longer." As she said this, she saw Liete reappear and hand the twins some parchment, which George took, tucking it safely away in his pocket before bidding farewell to their friend and coming over to meet them.

"We should probably get back," Fred suggested with a grin. "Mum'll think we lost you."

Ginny nodded and they started walking to that portal that'd lead them to the Muggle part of King's Cross. As the rest of the group made their way through the entrance, she glanced over her shoulder in order to search for any sign of Malfoy's strikingly blonde hair, but to her dismay, he was no where to be seen.

* * *

Many, many miles away, Draco was trekking along the path that led to the grand entrance of Malfoy Manor, the drizzling rain taunting him as it dripped down his pointed face. Once he reached the doors, he rapped on it curtly and hardly a minute later, his mother appeared in the doorway with relief written all over her features. After closing the door, she pulled him into a hug. "I was beginning to worry about you, Draco. Was the train running a bit late?"

"Not that I know of, mother." He paused, mildly uncomfortable because of the unusual attention he was receiving. "If you don't mind, could you let go?"

"Yes, Cissy," a cold voice mocked from the staircase, causing Narcissa to release her son from her hold. Over his mother's shoulder, Draco could see Bellatrix leaning against the banister, gazing at him scornfully. "He's a big boy now, it's about time you started treating him like one."

Mrs. Malfoy glanced away before returning her attention to her son. "Perhaps you should go warm up, Draco. We wouldn't want you to catch a cold."

"No wonder he failed his task, with you spending all your time _babying_ him like this," Bellatrix spat icily. Unwilling to be the target of anymore derision, he pulled away from his doting mother and began moving towards the stairs, leaving his stuff for the house elves to take care of. As he walked past her, she scowled. "Where do you think you're going?"

"My room." Knowing he was leaving his aunt fuming behind him, Draco kept walking until his was completely out of sight, already counting the days till he could return to Hogwarts.


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter 16_

March 24th

Blaise,

Well, you'll be glad to know I'm absolutely dying of boredom without you (though with your ego, I really don't think I should be telling you that). Mum won't let me leave the house, and with Harry, Ron, and Hermione gone, there isn't really anyone to talk to. Fred and George stop by occasionally (thank Merlin), but other than that it's incredibly dull. Since I'm the only one of us left, mum spends all of her time fussing over me, which wouldn't be so bad if she didn't put on this awful fake smile all the time. I understand everyone's worried (mum especially, since we haven't seen Ron since before Christmas) but it's the fact that everyone tries to hide it with forced happiness that really annoys me. On the bright side, I've had a lot of time to work on my homework.

Anyway, I hope your holiday has been going better than mine. Maybe I can convince mum to let me go with the twins to work one day and we can meet up (though that's about as likely as Snape resigning to become a ballet dancer). If not, I'll just have to think of something else...

With love,

Ginny

* * *

March 27, 1998

Dearest Ginny,

I sincerely apologize that I can't keep you company during break. After all, amusing you is my greatest source of entertainment, and without it, I find myself slipping into irrevocable boredom as well. Perhaps I shall sweep you away in the night so we may run off together and escape such arduous circumstances.

With that said, I have to say your mother sounds absolutely delightful. I can't help but wonder what she'd think of my grand scheme. If she does allow you to go to Diagon Alley, I'd be happy to meet you there, but given your rather interesting comparison, I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon. (And thanks to you, I'll never be able to look at Snape again without the horrible image of him prancing down the halls in a pink tutu.)

Regrettably, I can't say my holiday has been much better than yours by the sound of it. Mum has been off seducing her next husband, so the house has been pretty much empty, but I'm used to it. The truly awful thing is the ridiculous amount of work our dear professors have assigned us seventh years. While the Carrows don't seem as hell-bent on preparing us for our NEWTs as the others, the homework is still going to take much longer than I'd hoped.

Missing you as well,

Blaise Zabini

P.S. Your owl nearly killed himself delivering this letter to me. He's taking a short break, so I'm sending this with my owl and I'll send him on his way back tomorrow. Might I suggest getting a new one?

* * *

April 2nd

Dear Blaise,

Do you always have to make everything sound so dramatic? I made the mistake of reading your letter when Fred and George were visiting and, because of my laughing, they seem to think I've been receiving letters from a boyfriend. So they've been pestering me to tell them the identity of my "secret lover" or something of that sort, but (sadly enough) I can't say I mind — it's given me something to do for the past few days.

Speaking of the twins, their birthday was yesterday and I don't think I've seen everyone so happy since the wedding. Obviously Fred and George were up to their usual antics, but Bill and Fleur also stopped by, among others. It was a nice change from how the house has been recently and mum seems to be in a better mood now. I talked to the twins about letting me come to work with them, and they're up for it, so now I'll just have to get mum to say yes. And I'm sorry about Errol (my family's owl). I've told dad before that we should let him have a rest and get another owl to deliver some of the post, but he insists that he does his job well enough. I'm sending this letter with Ron's owl, Pigwidgeon.

You're probably right about the professors trying to prepare you for NEWTs, since I don't have any more homework than I did last year. Just make sure you keep up with the Charms material — we don't want all your hard work to go to waste, right? (But for some reason, I don't think you've been studying very much with Mandy lately.) I promise I'll respond to your letter sooner next time, so you don't have to waste away doing homework.

I told myself I wouldn't ask, but have you heard anything from him? I'm a little worried, since he didn't seem all that enthusiastic about returning home for the hols, and I obviously can't send a letter to him so I was wondering if you had.

With love,

Ginny

* * *

April 5, 1998

Gin,

Once again, I apologize, but I haven't heard anything from him. Usually I do write him over the break, but he told me not to this year, and I thought it'd be better not to press the matter. I'm sure he's fine though, so you shouldn't worry too much.

I wish I had something more interesting to tell you, but things have continued to be a dull as ever around here. Although, I did stumble across one of our house-elves the other day who'd decided to have a little too much butterbeer. I didn't say anything to my mum, since she most likely wouldn't have found it nearly as amusing a sight as I did, but I did tell one of the other elves to cart him off to bed. Other than that though, I can think of nothing else that might interest you that wouldn't be completely made up.

Next time, I'd prefer you send your old owl again. This one hasn't stopped zooming around my room since he got here, and I can't get him to leave without a reply. In regard to your earlier question though, what made you think I was being dramatic? I would like to think I was quite serious when I wrote that wonderful piece of work. Though I suppose since it entertained you, it has served its purpose. And I'll have you know I've been getting remarkably good grades (by my standard) in Charms, even if I've been slightly... distracted by my tutor as of late.

Until next time,

Blaise Zabini

* * *

April 7th

Dear Blaise,

Well, I asked mum, and she shot down my idea before I'd even finished telling her. The twins offered to sneak me out, but that would just cause more trouble when she found out (and she would, believe me). So I guess I'm stuck here until the hols are over...

I remember Ron telling me about the same thing happening to Winky, one of the house-elves who works at Hogwarts. I'm glad you didn't tell your mum. I think you'd get along with Hermione quite well. I'm sure you've heard about her S.P.E.W. efforts by now. I admire her dedication, but she does seem to take it a little too seriously sometimes. (Dobby must have trillions of tea cozies by now because of her.)

And don't tell me you weren't being dramatic, you prat. I think I know you well enough to say that you tend to exaggerate things more often than not. Just like I think you exaggerate how poorly you're doing in Charms. You seem to pick up stuff quickly, so I'm not sure how you're having so much trouble with it.

See you soon.

With love,

Ginny

* * *

Draco flopped down on his bed angrily, a slightly damp cloth pressed against the deep gash above his eye. _Leave it to bloody Potter to stir up trouble_, he thought, wincing as he pulled the stained fabric away from his wound. _I try to help his sorry arse and this is how he repays me? By stealing my wand and leaving me with this? _Exhaling, he lifted the cloth to his forehead once again in hopes of stemming the bleeding.

Truthfully, he wasn't sure why he hadn't sold out Potter the first chance he'd gotten. If anything, he'd just been scared, but his mind vehemently rejected that idea. Of course, he also chose to ignore the fact that he was still shaking half an hour after their prisoners had disappeared, and the gut-wrenching sound of Granger screaming in agony echoing through his mind wasn't helping either.

Falling back against the plush covers of his bed, he closed his eyes wearily. _The Dark Lord isn't going to be happy when he finds out..._ he reminded himself with a sense of dread. Their failure this time was just going to give him one more thing to be furious about, and being anywhere near the Dark Lord in a foul mood was never good. It was with this thought that he fell into a fitful sleep, his dreams riddled with haunting shrieks of terror, the horrified cries of someone he called his enemy, and the smiling image of the pretty ginger-haired girl he had come to care so much about.

* * *

A small clinking sound stirred the youngest Weasley from her slumber in the early hours of the morning, the noise continuing to irritate her even after she'd covered her ears with her pillow. So it was with a miffed countenance that she slipped out from under her warm covers to pad over to the window, where a ruffled brown owl was pecking against the glass. She recognized it as Blaise's owl, which was a little befuddling since he had probably just gotten her previous letter, as Errol could be a bit slow sometimes. Opening the window a crack, she let the owl hop inside before shutting it against the chilly morning air. She untied the letter without much trouble (Blaise's owl was surprisingly calm), and read the hastily scrawled note.

_Gin, I'm not sure if your parents have told you anything yet, but your family is in serious danger. I just overheard my mum talking with her boyfriend, and it sounds like your brother was seen with Potter. It won't be long before they come after you, so for the love of Merlin, keep yourself safe and _please_ don't do anything reckless. I'll send your owl back shortly, but I think it'd be better if we didn't send anymore letters for now. _

_Blaise_

Ginny had just finished reading the letter when there was a knock at her door. Shoving the letter in her desk and shooing the owl into her wardrobe, she called back, "Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" It was Bill, which only added to her confusion.

"Mm-hmm." The door opened and her eldest brother walked in. Without thinking, she asked, "What happened?"

A small crease appeared between his eyebrows. "What?"

"I heard you talking down stairs with mum and dad," she replied quickly. "Did something happen?"

He leaned back against the doorframe, a tired look in his eyes that made him seem much older than he really was. "Ron and the others were caught last night." Her eyes widened with alarm, but he offered her a weak smile. "They're fine. They managed to escape from the Malfoys' place and they showed up a little while ago at Shell Cottage. Fleur's taking care of them now."

Her stomach churned when he'd mentioned the place they'd escaped from, but at least Blaise's letter made sense now. "So we have to go into hiding?" she wondered, her expression downcast. Where would they go? Bill and Fleur would be all right at their quiet little place if they set up enough wards, but staying at the Burrow would be too obvious. And the twins would be in trouble as well... Her eyes snapped up from where they'd been resting on the floor. "Have you told Fred and George yet?"

"I'm off to tell them next. They'll meet up with you at Aunt Muriel's." Ginny grimaced, causing him to chuckle. "I know, not the best place to stay, but at least you'll be safe there. So hurry and pack up some stuff; you're leaving soon."

"Okay," she sighed, oddly calm about the whole affair. Bill pushed himself away from the doorframe and clapped her on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile before heading out the door.

"I'll see you soon, Gin." She closed the door as he disappeared down the stairs and went to release Blaise's owl, who was patiently perched on one of her empty hangers, before scribble him a hurried response.

_Thanks for the warning. I'll be fine, so don't worry about me. I'm sorry we can't keep writing, but hopefully I'll be able to see you again soon. -Ginny_

Fastening the parchment to the scruffy owl's leg, she sent him on his way and proceeded to pack her belongings.

* * *

A/N - Well, I don't exactly like how the formatting translated from Microsoft Word to with the letters, but it can't be helped. As you can see from this chapter, I'm trying to follow the actual storyline of Deathly Hallows (even if I did mess around with some of the pairings : ) ), so I hope that doesn't annoy anyone. As always, I love hearing from you guys and I'll see you next chapter!

-Twilight-Songstress


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter 17_

It was nearly noon when the youngest Weasley got around to unpacking her stuff. Upon arriving at her Aunt Muriel's (and escaping her nagging questions), she caught a few hours of extra sleep before getting up to eat some breakfast. At that time, she and her mother had been the only guests in the house, but as she reached into her trunk to pull out a few shirts, the sound of the floorboards squeaking behind her alerted her of someone else's presence.

"Hey, what's this?" a voice asked as its owner moved to grab a piece of parchment from where it was sitting on her bed. She could recognize the voice as belonging to one of the twins, but just from listening, she couldn't tell which one. Of course, that was the last of her priorities when she realized exactly what he had picked up.

Whirling around, she demanded, "Fred! Give it back!" Just as her hand was about to close around the paper, George took hold of it and moved it out of reach with a broad grin.

"Is this another one from _that boy_?" An enlighten look appeared on his twin's face.

"Oh yeah! That one who's letters always make her laugh so much." Their entertainment was halted for a moment when Ginny pulled her wand from her pocket.

"Give it back," she repeated dangerously, narrowing her eyes as her face glowed a light pink from both embarrassment and anger.

George tutted as he pushed her arm down, directing her wand away from them in the process. "No magic outside of school, Gin," he admonished with amusement.

"Not until you're of age anyway," Fred added casually as the letter exchanged hands once more and he prepared to open it. "Now, let's see what's in here..." The other twin peered over his shoulder, only to frown when the parchment was revealed to be blank.

"A security charm?"

Fred raised an eyebrow in Ginny's direction, his voice taking on a slightly more serious tone. "Just what's he writing in these letters?" But without waiting for an answer, his demeanor changed to one of mischievous plotting as he turned to his brother. "We can always figure that out though, can't we?"  
"Right you are," he chimed in response before they simultaneously turned to leave. With a huff, Ginny started after them.

"Fred! George! If you don't give that back-" The words died on her tongue when she made it into the hall just in time to see a petite brunette girl effortlessly pluck the letter from Fred's grasp, causing the older boy to stop in alarm.

"Oi! Ris, you're supposed to be on our side!" he exclaimed, but the girl hid the letter behind her back as he reached for it and sent him an exasperated look.

"Give her a break, okay?" Her lips curved downward as she continued unhappily, "Or do I need to remind you what happened when you read my letter from Terry?"  
George smiled as he came up beside his brother. "What? Embarrassed that he _loves_ you?" The girl, who Ginny knew as Sarisa Esteed, immediately turned a rosy shade as she glanced away in a flustered manner.

"N-no, that's not it at all..." she argued before a hint of annoyance passed over her features. "And it's none of your business anyway." The twins chortled at her awkward behavior as they gave up on acquiring Ginny's letter and walked away, no doubt planning to bring up the subject a little later. Still embarrassed, Sarisa handed the letter to the younger girl, murmuring, "Honestly, they have no respect for people's privacy..."

Ginny accepted the parchment with a grateful smile. "Thanks." After tucking it away safely in her pocket, she voiced the question that had been on her mind for the past few minutes. "Now, what are you doing here? I thought you were in hiding."

"I still am," she explained with a slight frown. "I'd been hiding out at the twins' shop before this whole fiasco happened. So, it was either here or at Shell Cottage with Dean and Luna-"

"Wait," the red-head smiled, "Dean and Luna are there? They're all right?"

Sarisa returned the expression brightly. "Yup, they're with Harry and the others. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"No," Ginny grumbled. Just one more thing to be added to the list of things that the Order wasn't telling her.

As if sensing her thoughts, the other girl sighed. "Well, you're not the only one they've been keeping in the dark. This is the first time I've heard about _anything_."  
"I'd tell you what I know about what's going on, but that's not much."

"That's all right. Maybe I can find something out from Fred or George. I told them I'd help with something anyway." She turned to leave, Ginny's eyes following her suspiciously.

"Are you three up to something?" she wondered, though she knew her assumption was probably correct.

The brunette glanced over her shoulder before smiling innocently. "What makes you think that?" Ginny laughed as the girl disappeared around the bend in the hallway, knowing that whatever they were up to would surely displease Aunt Muriel. But then again, most things did.

* * *

Blaise looked up from the text in front of him as the door to his room slowly swung open, revealing his mother standing in the doorway with a indifferent expression on her face. "Blaise, I would like you to stay up here for the time being. We have important guests and I can't risk you embarrassing me."

He refrained from rolling his eyes. It wasn't as if he wanted to leave his room in the first place — at least, not when her newest conquest was visiting. "Okay, mum," he replied before returning to his homework. She gazed at him curiously, but simply shook her head after a brief moment and closed the door as she left. The sound of voices from downstairs drew his attention a few minutes later and, wondering what could have been so important that his mother didn't want him down there, he rose from his desk chair to crack the door open. A deep voice reverberated up the stairs that he immediately identified as Mulciber's, the man who had been frequenting their house as of late.

"What brings you here, Avery?"

While the name rang a bell in his memory, Blaise couldn't exactly remember where he'd heard it until the man responded. "A few items that the Dark Lord sent us to retrieve." That was it; he was a Death Eater that Draco had mentioned a few times. "What about you?"

"Just visiting my lovely woman," Mulciber remarked, earning an airy laugh from Mrs. Zabini. Blaise grimaced in disgust.

Avery also seemed to find amusement in it, as his broken, wheezy snicker was heard not even a second later. "We'll be quick then. You, boy, go get the stuff we were sent for."

"The two packages are upstairs. The last room on the left," his mother chimed in. Footsteps were heard on the wooden stairs and Blaise hastily shut the door before returning to his seat. To his surprise, the door reopened.

"I thought I'd find you here..." a voice drawled. This time, he did roll his eyes as he shifted in his chair.

"It's my room. Where else would I–" He paused. "What the hell happened to you?" The blonde in the doorway scowled as he unconsciously rubbed the marred skin above his eye. "Potter?"

"So you've heard..." Draco grumbled as he waltzed over and took a seat on the large trunk at the end of Blaise's bed.

"Yup." He leaned back in his chair lazily. "But they all escaped, huh? Even Weasley?"

From his tone, or lack there of, Draco couldn't tell what he was implying, but either way he diverted his gaze to the floor. "Yeah, they did." When his friend didn't say anything, he glanced up, continuing. "Have you heard from-?"  
"Gin?" Blaise picked up a slip of paper that was sitting on his desk and handed it to the boy across from him. "This is the last thing I got from her. As you can see, she's gone into hiding, so I'm sure she's fine." Draco exhaled tiredly, tearing his eyes away from her scrawled signature to return it to Blaise. "Why? Have you heard anything?"

"No, and I'm glad I haven't," he mumbled. "It would just mean they know where she is."

"Touché," he agreed with a slight chuckle before his voice became more serious. "What about you? How've you been?"

"I've been worse," Draco answered with practiced casualness. The last thing he wanted was for people to worry about him, though he knew Blaise wouldn't pry if he didn't want to talk about it. "The Dark Lord obviously isn't happy that Potter got away, but he hasn't said anything to me." As he had assumed, Blaise picked up on the cue and smiled wistfully, rising from his seat before clapping him on the shoulder.

"Hang in there, mate. It won't be long till we had back to Hogwarts."

Draco also stood, though he did so with a sigh. "Everything'll just go back to the way it was before... If she even steps foot on the train, she's as good as captured."

"Don't be like that," Blaise retorted sternly. "There's always a chance-"

"That she'll try to come back despite the risk?" He snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure that'll happen."

"...I think you under-estimate how much she cares about you and everyone else she knows," he commented thoughtfully after a moment before meeting Draco's eyes. "In case you haven't noticed from previous years, I'm pretty damn sure she'd go through hell and back for her friends."

Blaise had a point; he was aware of her undying devotion to her friends, but he also figured that the decision wasn't hers to make. "They wouldn't let her. You know that."

The other boy shrugged, opening his mouth to reply but a gruff shout from downstairs cut him off. "Kid! What's takin' you so long?"

Draco growled under his breath. "I just had to get stuck with him..." he muttered, turning towards the door. Blaise followed him into the hallway.

"So, what are you picking up?"

"You'd know better than I do."

Blaise laughed softly at his sharp response. "At least this is an easy job. I wasn't expecting to see you over the hols."

"Me neither. I don't think my father realized where he was sending me." He hadn't known either before arriving. If anything, luck was just on his side that day.

"Well, at least I know you're not off causing trouble," Blaise quipped. While he had intended it to be funny, they both realized there was some seriousness in the statement, but Draco's lips quirked nonetheless.

"You're more of a trouble-maker than I am."

Blaise opened his mouth to argue, but after a second thought, he grinned. "Yeah... I suppose you're right."

* * *

"Ginevra!" Upon hearing her name, said girl let out a small huff and lifted her head from where she was diligently trying to get gravy out of the carpet. Unfortunately, her head promptly met the bottom of the table with a loud thud but her swear was drowned out by Aunt Muriel's harping from the kitchen. "Ginevra! Where did those two ruffians go? They should have to clean up the mess they made!" During dinner, Fred and George, with help from the seemingly innocent Sarisa, had managed to explode every dish on the table, splattering everything from mashed potatoes to bits of pork across the dining room. (Apparently they had wanted to throw in some fireworks as well, but she had a feeling the most reasonable of the three had put a stop to that.) Of course, the twins had fled and now Ginny and Sarisa were stuck scrubbing the room clean.

"I can't believe they didn't take me with them..." the older of the two pouted as she dumped the sponge she was using in the bucket of water sitting between them. "Those prats..." It was at that point that Mrs. Weasley entered the room with a sigh of exasperation.

"Sarisa, would you go get them?"

"Mm-hmm." She stood up immediately and made a bee-line for the stairs. Before she could ascend them though, Mrs. Weasley spoke up again.

"Oh, and tell them they won't need their wands. They'll be cleaning this by hand."

The girl fought back a laugh, glad that her partners in crime would be getting their just deserts for roping her into their scheme. "Yes, ma'am." Once she had disappeared, Ginny got to her feet as well and tossed the sponge in the bucket.

"I'd better go too."

"And where do you think you're going?" her mum inquired without missing a beat. Ginny turned to face her with the most passive expression she could muster.

"Upstairs to pack," she answered simply, but Mrs. Weasley was quick to stop her.

"No you're not," she stated with pursed lips. "Your father and I told you that you're not going back."

"But mum-" Ginny started to protest, but the look on her mother's face caused her to hesitate.

"No, and that's final."

"But I _have to _go back," she insisted with nothing but sheer determination as her grip on the banister tightened. "I can't leave Neville by himself. And who'll stand up to the Death Eaters if we don't?" _And I want to see Draco..._ she thought, her hand loosening on the banister as she watched her mother's irritated expression falter slightly. _Merlin, who would've thought I'd miss them both so much..._

Mrs. Weasley's shoulders slumped wearily. "This is the safest place for you right now, Ginny."

Even though it was a weak excuse, she uttered, "They won't try anything."

"Have you already forgotten what happened to that poor Lovegood girl?" Mrs. Weasley reminded her. "It's a miracle she's all right!"

"But-"

"Ginevra. Go see what's taking your brothers so long." Realizing that that was the end of their conversation, Ginny let out a huff and made her way up the steps a little louder than need be. When she reached the top, the sound of Sarisa's voice coming from the twins' room told her where she needed to go. "If you don't help, _I'll _be stuck doing all the work!"

"Hey, you're to blame too," one of the twins replied, while the other continued.

"If you think about it, the entire thing was your doing-"

"After all, _you_ were the one who put the product in the food."

She could just hear the frustration in Sarisa's voice as she fired back with, "Only because you asked me to!"

Ginny came to the doorway just in time to see George point a finger at their friend. "Ah, so you admit to doing it!"

"Brilliant," Fred added with a grin. "Now we don't have to clean." Sarisa let out a heavy sigh.

"You two are horrible..." Simultaneously, the twins each placed an arm around her shoulders.

"But-"

"Since you're such a great friend-"

"I suppose we'll help," Fred finished. An exasperated laugh escaped her lips at their antics as she turned around to see Ginny standing in the doorway. A smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, Ginny, are you going to pack already?"

"No," she answered glumly, folding her arms over her chest.

"They're not letting you, huh?" George cut in with a sympathetic frown.

Fred shook his head. "Figured this'd happen..."

A somber silence stretched out for a minute before Sarisa spoke again. "So... I guess we all really are stuck here then." A mischievous glint flashed across Fred's face.

"Hoping to send a love letter back, weren't you?"

"Yeah..." As soon as the word left her mouth, a light blush lit up her face and her eyes widened. "I mean- I wanted to send a letter back but not a love-"

"Did you hear that too, Fred? It sounds like she said she _did _want to send a _love _letter," George interrupted with a broad grin.

"Why, I absolutely did, George. Who would've thought our little Ris would've fallen in _love_ with that smart-ass Ravenclaw."

"He is not a smart-ass," she objected hotly before her lips turned downward a fraction. "Well, maybe he is, but that's not the point!" Turning to Ginny, she blurted out, "You needed to talk to them, didn't you?"

Answering the girl's plead for help, the red-head prevented them from continuing the topic. "Hey, mum wants you two downstairs, and I suggest you hurry before she gets _really _mad at you guys."

"Fine, fine," George grumbled.

"Go ahead and spoil our fun."

"But don't thing we've forgotten about _your_ love letters either, sis," they chorused before exiting their room. Sarisa moved to follow after them, but not before sending Ginny a sheepish smile.

"Thanks." With that, she left as well, probably figuring she'd be safe from their teasing with Mrs. Weasley in the room. Rather than going back down to clean, Ginny decided to spend the rest of the evening in her room, but even then she knew there wouldn't be anything that could keep her mind off of Hogwarts. She'd known it was impossible for her to return, especially after what happened with Luna, but there'd been the slightest glimmer of hope in her mind that everything could've gone back to the way it'd been not even a month ago. But now, it seemed as if that was never going to happen.

* * *

"Do you see her?"

Blaise shook his head as his friend continued to scan the platform for any sign of red hair among the crowd. "I though you were convinced she wasn't going to come."

A scowl crossed over his features. "That doesn't mean I can't ask if you see her," he hissed before resuming his task of trying to find the girl who had flitted through his thoughts the entire break.

"Someone didn't get enough sleep last night..."

Draco shot a glare at him before growling, "You think so?" Blaise wisely chose not to respond as the other boy's anger ebbed away. "...Do you really think she's not coming?"

Not wanting to admit the reality of her absence, Blaise turned away from him and started walking towards the train. "Come on, mate. We need to get on or it's gonna leave without us." Draco lingered for a moment before resigning to the fact that Ginny was nowhere to be seen and with a hint of reluctance, he boarded the train with a soft sigh.

* * *

A/N - I hope this chapter didn't seem too uneventful... In my mind though, it's a little like the calm before the storm, you know? I'd love to hear your opinon about it : )

My two other concerns with this chapter were keeping Draco in character and adding Sarisa Esteed to the mix. With Draco, I wanted to show that he was upset about not being able to see Ginny, but at the same time, he's still who he is... So, I'm not so sure about how I did : ) As for Sarisa, I hope you guys don't mind that I've been adding my own random characters in... It's just a little easier if there's another girl at Aunt Muriel's with Ginny.

I'd love to hear what you guys have to say and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! : )

-Twilight-Songstress


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter 18_

"I'll see ya later then, mate." Draco glanced up from his textbook, only mildly aware of the fact that someone was talking to him.

"What? Oh, yeah..." he mumbled, returning his gaze to the faded text in front of him. "See you later."

Blaise exhaled silently before exiting the library to meet with his girlfriend, leaving his friend with only a dense, worn book for company. It wasn't that he wanted to leave him behind — in fact, he had invited him to come along, but since they'd come back to Hogwarts, Draco had drifted back into his cold, uncaring shell. The fact that Blaise was currently occupied with his own girlfriend didn't help either; after all, Draco had no desire to feel like a third-wheel.

_This is how he must've felt before_, Draco thought bitterly as he lazily flipped the thin page of his book after reading the final sentence on the page nearly three times. _Ginny was his friend too... He should've just said something. _Blaise had always been good at hiding his thoughts though, probably even better than his friend if you considered the fact that he'd put on a false grin in addition to masking the truth. In actuality, he may have been fine with his two friends spending so much time together (he did manipulate them into that situation in the first place), but Draco could never be certain when he was telling the truth or showing them a façade.

_It's no different this time_, he mused, turning the page once more after skimming the paper. _He's not acting any different than before. Does he really think everything'll just go back to the way it was? _He snorted. _He's not _that_ daft. _A loud thud jolted him out of his thoughts as Madam Pince dropped a towering stack of tomes on the table in front of him.

"The library is closed!" she hissed, her beady eyes narrowing at him behind tiny glasses. "What are you still doing here?"

Draco, indifferent to the ill-tempered woman before him, scanned the room quickly only to realize that everyone else had left and the library was indeed closed. Without a word, he stood up, shoving the book in his bag and ignoring the fuming Madam Pince as he left the room.

* * *

Ginny smiled as a giggling baby boy with short tufts of bright purple hair reached out to grab hold of her finger. Shifting her attention to his mother, she commented, "I see he has your hair, Tonks."

The woman, who was currently sporting bubble-gum pink hair, grinned happily. "Well, he's a mummy's boy. You can tell." Her voice held a hint of pride as the baby let out a squeal of delight.

"He's so adorable!" Sarisa cooed with obvious glee before she turned to Tonks. "Do you mind if I hold him?"

"He's all yours." As she handed him off to the beaming teenager, she added, "Careful though, he likes to pull hair." While Sarisa rocked little Teddy back and forth, Tonks started up another conversation with the red-head. "So, Ginny, what've you been up to?"

"Nothing really; there's not much to do here..." she answered plainly.

"What?" Tonks began with amusement. "Fred and George aren't keeping it interesting enough for you?"

She laughed. "Well, they are, but still..."

"Things could be better?"

Ginny looked away. "Yeah..."

"Well, I'd drink to that," Tonks sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the arm of the sofa. "Hopefully this'll all be over soon. I don't want Teddy to grow up in a world like this."

"I'm sure he won't," Ginny assured her. "Everyone's doing their best to get rid of You-Know-Who." It'd become habit to address Voldemort by the name so many called him out of fear, what with the Taboo and all. Tonks chuckled as she glanced over at Sarisa, who was making faces, eliciting tiny giggles from the boy in her arms.

Turning back to Ginny, Tonks said, "Harry's been made his godfather, you know. Remus asked him when he stopped by Shell Cottage."

The youngest Weasley grinned at the thought. "Just wait till you tell him his godfather's the hero of the Second War." Tonks laughed once more.

"Yeah, I'm sure Harry would appreciate that..." She paused as a quiet yelp of discomfort came from beside them. "Oh, Teddy! Let go of Sarisa's hair." Reaching over, she relieved the girl of the baby, but he continued to squirm in her arms. "Well, he's getting fussy, so we'd better get goin'."

"Try to visit again soon," Ginny spoke up. Tonks shifted Teddy to one arm before waving as she left the room.

"Will do." Ginny heard the young woman talking to her mother in the entry hallway, but she couldn't understand what they were saying since Sarisa started speaking a moment later.

"It's really amazing, isn't it?" she murmured with a smile. "That even at a time like this, people can make the best of it."

Ginny nodded in agreement. "But it'd still be nice not to worry about everything." The other girl laughed softly.

"I know what you mean." Suddenly one of the twins poked his head out from the drawing room.

"Oi, Ris! We need help packing these boxes!"

"I'm coming," she answered back before turning back to Ginny, who was wearing an expression of mild disbelief.

"Are they shipping stuff out again? I thought mum had hidden all of their products, especially with Aunt Muriel complaining and all."

Sarisa shrugged with a slight curve to her lips. "You know how they are."

"Talk about making the best of a situation..." she mumbled, causing the girl beside her to laugh. Before she could respond though, there was another call from the drawing room.

"Ris! Are you comin' or not?"

"Hold on a sec." The exasperation in her voice must've been evident, because Fred peered around the doorway with a grin.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?"

Ginny chortled heartily while Sarisa sighed, uttering, "I guess I'd better go help them..." as she walked towards the doorway.

Fred turned his attention towards his sister as the brunette girl walked past him. "You can help out too if you want."

"I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged before disappearing back inside the room. Ginny hesitated for a moment, thinking that maybe she should've taken up the offer, but eventually decided to get a bit of fresh air.

Making her way to the entry hall, she asked, "Mum, can I go outside for a bit?" Mrs. Weasley and Tonks' conversation paused. A few seconds elapsed before there was a response.

"...Alright, but take your wand with you." As she already had it in her pocket (it was there more for comfort reasons, as she wasn't allowed to use it unless there was an emergency), she went to the opposite side of the house and opened the door that led to the backyard. There was a quaint little porch attached to the house, but she immediately walked down the few steps in favor of stopping next to one of the trees that had made its home in the yard. Grabbing onto a low branch, she climbed till she was a good number of feet off the ground before leaning against the trunk tiredly. She could see the sun setting on the horizon through the gapes in the leaves, but instead she let her eyes lazily flutter closed.

_Draco and Blaise must be going to dinner now_, she reasoned with a hint of longing grasping her thoughts. _Unless they're already there, in which case Blaise is probably chatting idly while Draco plays with the food on his plate._ She smiled at the thought, not even aware of how right her supposition was.

* * *

A few mornings later, Blaise packed up the last of his supplies for the day and slung his bag over his shoulder before turning towards the bed next to his, where the only other occupant of the room was mostly hidden beneath the covers. "Draco, get out of bed," he stated tersely, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Breakfast'll be over in twenty minutes."

"I'll just meet you in class," he muttered groggily in return before rolling over to go back to sleep, but Blaise wasn't about to let that happen.

"Oh, no you don't. I know you skipped dinner last night — for the second time this week, might I add — so you'd better get your arse out of bed and get some food."

"I'm fine," Draco growled, pulling the covers over his head. "Now bugger off." Blaise sighed before walking over, swiftly grabbing the pillow from his own bed and hitting his stubborn friend with it. Draco sat up almost immediately, snatching the pillow away before he could hit him again with it.

"What the hell was that for?" he demanded, though the irritated look on his face was weakened by the fact that he looked like a disheveled mess. Blaise simply ignored him.

"You may as well get ready now that you're up," he remarked with a slight grin. Draco scowled, but dragged himself out of bed nonetheless. "I mean honestly, what would Ginny say if she could see you now?"  
The blonde scratched his head, his eyes locking on the floor in the process. "Don't say that," he stated, his voice holding no detectable emotion that could clue Blaise into the meaning of his retort.

"Why not?"

Draco shrugged. "I think it'd be better if we forgot about her." The other boy could do nothing but stare at him in surprise. "It was great and all while it lasted, but let's face it, we're not going to see her again," he reasoned matter-of-factly. This knocked Blaise out of his stupor.

"So we should just forget about her?" he wondered incredulously.

"Why not?" Draco prompted, mimicking the lofty tone his friend had had when he asked the same question moments before. Blaise gazed at him, entertaining the notion that maybe this whole conversation was some odd prank, but eventually he just shook his head in disbelief.

"You're being ridiculous," he huffed, turning his back to him and heading for the door. "Just go get ready."  
Annoyed by Blaise's dismissive behavior, Draco snapped, "I'm serious. The whole thing was just a joke. And now that it's over, we should get back to reality. It's not like we ever considered being friends with a Muggle-lover before."

Blaise whirled around, a rare expression of anger on his face. "Are you _listening_ to what you're saying? I miss her just as much as you do, but I'm not saying we should pretend nothing happened!" He paused, his jaw clenching before he turned away. "Now stop making excuses and hurry up. At this rate you'll be late for class," he gritted out before briskly walking out of the room, leaving a somewhat taken aback Draco behind him.

* * *

The dimming rays of sunlight that shone through the windows of Aunt Muriel's house found Ginny sitting on her bed, reclined against the wall with a few pieces of parchment in hand. Since she was so absorbed in what she was reading, the muffled sound of footsteps on the carpet just outside her open door went completely unnoticed until someone spoke.

"Who _are _those letters from anyway?"

Ginny jumped at the sudden noise and quickly refolded the letters before looking over to see Sarisa standing in the doorway with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You mum sent me up here to get you for dinner," she explained.

"Oh, all right." Ginny swung her legs over the side of her bed before getting up and putting the letters in the drawer of her desk. Sarisa's eyes followed her curiously.

"Are they really from your boyfriend?"

The red-head frowned — she hadn't really been listening. "What?"

"The letters," Sarisa clarified, gesturing towards the desk where Ginny had placed the letters just a moment before.

"No, they're not."

"Oh, never mind then."

Now it was Ginny's turn to be stricken by curiosity as her brow furrowed slightly. "Why? What were you going to say?"

Sarisa glanced away as if recalling something before saying, "Well, in her note, Liete said, 'Things are really crazy around here. You'll never guess who Ginny's been hanging out with.'" Her shoulders lifted briefly before falling again. "And then she said a few other things, but that's why I thought Fred and George had been right about the letters being from a boyfriend." Ginny's cheeks turned a light scarlet, but the other girl took no notice as she smiled brightly. "I was just curious, that's all." She turned to leave, but the red-head spoke up again.

"Hey, Ris?"

The girl looked over her shoulder. "Mm-hmm?"

Ginny hesitated, not sure how to pose her question. "It feels weird being away from Terry, doesn't it?" she began awkwardly. "I mean, you miss him, but it's... different. Kind of like he should be here with you, but he's not." Upon seeing her look of confusion, she sighed. "I'm not making any sense..."

"No..." Sarisa murmured thoughtfully. "I think I know what you're saying." She frowned as she tried to put together an understandable response. "I think... it's like that with anyone you care about. When you're used to being around them, you start to expect them to always be there, so when they're not, it feels odd." She paused, tilting her head to the side inquisitively. "Is that what you're getting at?"

"Yeah... Kinda."

"Listen, don't worry about it. I'm sure it's perfectly natural to feel that way."

Ginny stifled a laugh. _I don't think you'd be saying that if you knew who I was talking about..._

"We should get downstairs," Sarisa noted a second later. "You're mum'll be wondering where you are." Ginny nodded before following her out the door, still contemplated what the older girl had said.

* * *

"Did you hear about Potter and his gang?"

"The whole dragon thing?" Draco responded monotonously as he and Blaise made their way down to the Great Hall for dinner. Ever since their small row in the dormitory, things had been a little strained between the two — Blaise had started spending even more time with Mandy, while Draco often retreated to either the library or the Common Room after classes. Regardless of their spending time apart from each other, a few more spats had still broken out — this just happened to be one of the few instances over the past week where they had a mutual agreement not to mention the source of their argument.

"Yeah, they say they're heading in this direction, but no one really knows," Blaise continued conversationally. This finally caught his friend's attention.

"What do you think would happen if Potter came here?"

A little surprised by his question (he had expected him to reply with one of his typical, simplistic responses), Blaise answered, "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure more Death Eaters wouldn't be too far behind."

He frowned grimly. "So it'd come down to a fight–" Draco was cut off by a much shorter boy ramming into his side as he came out of the classroom he and Blaise were walking past.

The boy — _A Gryffindor_, Draco thought with a sneer — narrowed his eyes before shouting, "Hey, watch it!"

He glared at the indignant boy before growling, "_You're_ the one who ran into me."

"And you weren't payin' attention to where you were going!" the boy retaliated, causing the other Gryffindor present, a shy-looking girl about the same age, to hesitantly place a hand on his shoulder, but he simply shrugged away.

Having had enough of the kid's back-talk, Draco's jaw clenched as he reached into his pocket for his wand. "You little-"

Blaise stepped in between the two, grabbing his friend's arm to stop him from doing something rash. "He's sorry for bumping into you," he told the boy jovially. "Now run along." Draco shot a glare at the back of Blaise's head, but the young Gryffindor spoke before he could.

"Don't tell me what to do."

This time, the girl latched onto his arm tightly. "Euan, just come on..." she mumbled before pulling him away, though that didn't stop him from glaring daggers over his shoulder. Draco took the proceeding silence as an opportunity to rip his arm out of Blaise's grasp.

"Why'd you stop me? You heard him! He has no right–"

"Yes, yes," Blaise responded with exasperation as he started walking. "Cheeky little fellow, wasn't he?" Draco let out a low growl of frustration but didn't say anything as the pair resumed their journey to the Great Hall. It was only when they were just outside the large doors that Blaise spoke again, stopping to face his friend. "Draco, you can't keep acting like this." He tone was serious, and to Draco's surprise, more concerned than annoyed.

"And why would that be?"

Blaise sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Honestly? You're almost impossible to be around when you're in a mood this bad." Draco scowled before continuing on to the Great Hall.

"Then by all means, leave me the hell alone."

"You _know_ Ginny wants to come back." At the sound of _her_ name, Draco came to a halt and glanced back over his shoulder. "You know that as well as I do. So quit acting like her not coming back is her way of rejecting you." With that, Blaise continued on through the heavy wooden doors, leaving Draco in the hallway with his words of wisdom.

He simply stood there for a moment before his face hardened into a mask of indifference. _You don't know that for sure…_

* * *

"Gin, forget about the dishes." The youngest Weasley pulled her hands out of the soapy water to send a questioning look in George's direction. "We're leaving."

She couldn't help the small feeling of alarm that crept into her system as she asked, "Why? What's going on?"

He held up his Galleon from his days in Dumbledore's Army, not even the slightest trace of amusement on his face. "They've gone back to Hogwarts."

Ginny's eyes widened before her brain kicked into gear. Tossing the dish cloth in the sink and drying her hands on her jeans, she walked over to him. "How soon can we leave?"

"Now. Mum's gone to tell Bill and dad's meeting up with Lupin. We're all pretty sure something big's gonna happen. They wouldn't go back otherwise," he informed her as they went to the entrance hall, where his twin was arguing with a flustered Aunt Muriel, while Sarisa stood off to the side awkwardly.

"We're leaving now, whether you like it or not," he informed her resolutely, which only served to annoy her even more.

"You wait till your mother gets back!" she ordered sharply. "Until then, you are not stepping one foot out of this house!" Fred rolled his eyes, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the frail woman in front of him. "Don't you roll your eyes at me, boy! I will not be held responsible for whatever mischief you get into."

George mimicked his brother's earlier action as he gently pushed Ginny and Sarisa towards the door. "Let's just go," he suggested under his breath to Fred, who showed his agreement by opening the door.

"Hey! Get back here!" Aunt Muriel screeched as they filed out the door and promptly shut it with a thud, cutting off her shouts.

"But how will we get there?" Sarisa questioned as she pulled on a jacket to ward off the cool evening air. "I can't Apparate, and neither can Ginny..."

"You'll just have to side-along Apparate with us," George replied brightly.

Fred glanced over his shoulder at her with a grin. "We figure it can't be too much different."

"Oh God... You're gonna get us splinched, do you know that?"

"Geez, have a little faith, will ya?" Fred teased before coming to a halt a good ways outside the house. "This should be far enough," he murmured to himself before turning to Ginny and offering her his arm. "Hold on tight, alright? We don't want you ending up in some random place."

Ginny looked up at him a little skeptically. "And you've never done this before?"

"It'll be fine," he assured her with a broad smile. She glanced over at George to see Sarisa clinging to him with an expression of mild anxiety. Exhaling softly, Ginny grabbed Fred's arm.

"Well, here we go." George grinned at his brother, who mimicked the expression.

"See ya there," he returned. Ginny tightened her grip as she felt the air compress around her before her surroundings completely disappeared from view.

* * *

A/N - _Yes_! Ginny is finally going back to Hogwarts : ) (Of course, it's for the final battle... but still, at least she's going back.) From the reviews I've gotten, I'm really glad you guys don't mind me throwing in my own characters (it makes writing these scenes at Aunt Muriel's quite a bit easier).

On another note, yes, Draco is being a bit of a moron in this chapter, but honestly, can you imagine him being any other way? I don't really think he wouldn't have second thoughts about his whole relationship with Ginny, and that's why I put that in there.

As usual, I'd love to know what you guys think! (How am I doing with characterization, is anything unbearably annoying, who's your favorite character, ect.) So please review and I'll see you all next chapter : )


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter 19_

It wasn't long before the soft glow of a fire and a musty smell greeted Ginny as they Apparated into the main room of the Hog's Head. A gruff voice acknowledged their arrival. "Great, there's more of you lot." She looked over to see Aberforth, the barman, reclined in a wooden chair by the grimy window, a disgruntled look on his face as he stood from his seat.

"More people've been coming?" Fred questioned, his eyes glancing curiously around the new environment. Ginny did the same, though her attention was almost immediately drawn to the portrait of a young girl hanging above the mantelpiece.

"Yeah, there were two others that just went in," he informed them, gesturing to the portrait. A resounding crack prevented him from elaborating as Lee Jordan appeared in the middle of the room — his lips quickly forming a wide grin as he saw the twins.

"Hey, long time no see!" he exclaimed before the three broke into an animated conversation. Just as Ginny was about to remind them about their rather important reason for coming there, Cho Chang Apparated into the room. Seeing the expression of surprise on the youngest red-head's face, she frowned slightly.

"…This is the right place, isn't it?"

"I would suppose so, since everyone seems to be coming here and all," Sarisa replied. Judging from her terse tone, it seemed she hadn't forgotten that it was Cho's friend who had betrayed the DA a few years before hand (and Ginny couldn't blame her, for she wasn't particularly fond of the girl either). Cho must've gotten the message as well, if her nervously biting her lip was any indication.

"Oh… yes."

"Are you goin' or not?" Aberforth finally barked, a bit annoyed by the series of interruptions. In response, Ginny turned to face him.

"How do we get there?

Aberforth pointed above the fireplace at his sister's portrait, from which she waved genially at the group. George, having stopped the conversation when Aberforth had spoken up, walked over and studied the portrait curiously. "I don't remember there being a passage here…"

"Me neither," Fred said with a frown. "And we knew all of them."

Opening the passageway, Aberforth explained, "There wasn't one until those kids went into hiding about a month ago." Feeling a tad guilty, Ginny shifted awkwardly and glanced away — something that didn't go unnoticed by the girl standing beside her.

"Well, there's no point in wasting time," Sarisa remarked as she walked over to Fred. "Can you give me a lift?"

"No problem." He gave her a boost into the old tunnel before George helped Ginny up onto the mantelpiece. Once they were all in the passage, they bid a quick farewell to Aberforth and continued on their way.

A few minutes elapsed, the twins entertaining themselves by reminiscing with their friend as Sarisa smiled occasionally at their antics from previous years. Meanwhile, Ginny watched the light from the brass lamps flicker across the walls while Cho remained silent, not sure what to say among the group of Gryffindors.

"I hope everyone's alright…" Ginny murmured to herself once they began ascending a small hill in the path. Sarisa turned to her, the ghost of a grin on her face from something that one of the twins had just said.

"They must be. After all, the barman did say that they went into hiding," she reminded her. "I wonder why they had to…"

"Neville probably tried something when I didn't come back," Ginny figured, her lips turned down slightly. "The two of us were kinda leading everything, with Luna of course, before she was kidnapped. We sorta stopped after that…"

"Aren't the professors doing anything about the Death Eaters? I never would've thought McGonagall would stand for something like this to happen."

"They don't really have a choice — not with Snape as headmaster," the red-head pointed out grimly. "They do the best they can without putting themselves in danger.

Sarisa nodded in understanding. "Because if something were to happen to them, they'd just be replaced with more Death Eaters."

"Yeah. I'm not sure how they put up with it. The students always do stuff to annoy the Carrows, but the professors limit it to just insulting comments and stuff like that." As she said this, the small group turned a corner and found themselves at the passage's exit. With an air of anticipation, Ginny reached out and opened the door. Those in the room before her fell silent and her eyes quickly met deep emerald ones obscured by a pair of round glasses. Flashing Harry a brilliant smile, she stepped into the room, unaware of the absence of the usual fluttery feeling she was accustomed to in his presences. Her eyes continued their scan of the room, noting many other familiar faces — including, to her relief, the smiling ones of Dean and Luna. She returned their happy expression before seeing Sarisa ambushed by Liete and Terry, the latter of whom looked a little worse for the ware, but picked up his girlfriend in a crushing hug nonetheless. As Cho greeted Harry, Ginny moved over to the edge of the room and sat down on the arm of Luna's chair, listening attentively as the bespectacled boy in front of her continued to speak.

* * *

"Draco! Where do you think you're going?" Blaise called after his friend as he practically ran down the deserted hall to catch up with him. After noticing Draco slip away from the crowd that was being directed out of the Great Hall for evacuation, he too snuck out and followed after him. When he finally caught sight of him at the end of the corridor, it didn't seem like the blonde had any intention of heading his calls.

"Blaise, get out of here," he ordered, his annoyance obvious by his tone.

"I'm not leaving." His jogging slowed down to a walk as Draco stopped in the hallway and turned around with an unreadable expression.

"So you're picking a side then?"

Blaise rolled his eyes, also coming to a halt as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Who says I have to pick a side? I don't see why I can't play both like I usually do." Draco narrowed his eyes scornfully, but Blaise simply ignored him and continued in a more arduous tone. "What about you? Are you picking your side?"

Draco's jaw visibly clenched, but his shoulders also slumped in a weary fashion. "Why do you have to say it like that?"

"Because you're making a mistake."  
The simplicity of his friend's statement seemed to undermine the severity of the situation. A full scale battle was almost inevitable at this point, one that would sure to bear heavy consequences, and all Blaise could tell him was that he was making mistake. Needless to say, Draco wasn't happy with this admonition. "Blaise, don't you get it?" he growled, his hands balling up by his sides. "This is my last shot!"  
"There's always the other option." Draco stared at him incredulously.

"You want me to put my faith in _Potter_?" he spat. "Not bloody likely."

"Hey, I can't stand him either," Blaise sympathized, "but I'd rather follow him than live in constant fear of Voldemort like you do."

As if it were a reflex, Draco retorted with, "I'm not afraid of him."

"Really?" the other Slytherin taunted. "Could've had me fooled…"

Practically seething, Draco bit back his scathing reply and shook his head. "What d'you know anyway?" he muttered, about to turn away when Blaise said the magic word.

"I know that if by some freak accident Voldemort actually _wins_ this thing, Ginny's as good as dead." Draco stopped mid-turn, Blaise's words sinking in. He'd thought she was still in hiding, but… "You saw the rest of her family — she must be here."

"You don't know that," he argued, thinking quickly. "If I get the diadem that they're saying Potter is after, then maybe–"

"You could save her?" Blaise scoffed. "Don't try to play the hero — it doesn't work for people like us." Upon seeing Draco's scowl, he continued. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you're just trying to save yourself. You said so yourself: it would be better if we just forgot about her."

Draco glared at him lividly before whirling around, resuming his brisk walk down the hall. "Do whatever the hell you want, but stay out of my business."

Blaise was about to go after him again, but stopped. He figured it was a lost cause by this point, his shoulders falling in resolution. "Have fun making an arse of yourself then!" he shouted, unable to hide the resentment in his voice. He could have sworn he'd seen Draco falter slightly, but it didn't matter — they had both chosen their sides, and for once, it wasn't the same one.

* * *

The door to the Room of Requirement clicked shut behind the trio and not even a second later, Ginny was sprinting down the hall in the opposite direction. Everyone else was fighting — there was no reason she shouldn't be. And it wasn't like she was disobeying her parents; Harry had said she couldn't stay in the Room of Requirement anymore (even if he did say that she had to return once they were done). Regardless, she was going to fight, and nothing anyone said would make a differ–

"Gin! Behind you!" a voice cried, cutting off her thoughts. Stumbling slightly, she slid to a stop and spun around just in time to see a Death Eater's curse flying in her direction. Ducking immediately, the spell flew over her head before she raised her own wand and pointed it at the masked figure down the hall.

"_Stupefy_!" The stunner hit the man directly in the chest and he went toppling to the floor, allowing Ginny the opportunity to flop down into a sitting position, slightly shaken. Could she really have died that easily…?

"Geez, pay more attention, will you?" the same voice said. Ginny looked up to see Blaise standing above her with a grin playing on his lips.

She simply stared at him with disbelief before her eyes lit up. "Blaise!" she exclaimed with delight as she leapt off the ground to engulf him in a hug. "I thought you would've left by now!"

"And leave you behind? Are you kidding?" he chuckled, pushing her away gently.

"How'd you know I was here?"

"I saw the rest of your family in the Great Hall," he explained before frowning. "But now isn't the time for catching up. You're gonna get yourself _killed_ if you don't pay more attention."

"I know that," she mumbled. A different train of thought struck her a moment later though and she met Blaise's eyes with concern. "Where's Draco?"

"He was heading this way. Didn't you pass him?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "No… Wait, what was he doing?"

Unable to break the news that Draco chosen the other side to her, he lied. "He left before I could talk to him. I don't know." Ginny looked away, only to see a flash of black as a Death Eater turned the corner.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" The Death Eater dodged the attack and another one appeared from the adjacent hallway, firing a Killing Curse at the girl. Blaise pulled Ginny out of the way and she shot back a Stunner in retaliation, this one making contact with the first Death Eater.

As his companion fell unconscious, the other Death Eater cursed. "What the hell'd you two kids do?"

Blaise's eyes widened a fraction in surprise. "That voice… It's that bastard I was telling you about. Mulciber."

The Death Eater, Mulciber, sneered. "Oh, it's you. You're fightin' for _their _side, are ya? I'll just have to deal with that." He raised his wand. "_Avada Ke–_"

"_Stupefy!_" The spell hit Mulciber before he could finish and he collapsed. With a sense of satisfaction, Blaise lowered his wand, but he was cut off from saying anything by Ginny grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall.

"Come on. We should keep moving. It won't be long before–" A scream of terror rang through the corridor, causing Ginny to freeze in her tracks. "Where'd that come from…?" Suddenly, Blaise started running down the hall that the two Death Eaters had exited before.

"Over here!" he called over his shoulder. She raced after him, till they came to a stretch of hallway where the windows had been shattered, glass littering the floor as a swarm of cloaked figures glided across the shards. A dense, chilling air had fallen upon the corridor. In the distance, she could see Oliver Wood throwing every spell he knew at them, but to no avail, while Sarisa was gripping her wand so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Liete was leaning heavily against the wall beside her — pale and clutching her bleeding arm as she murmured words of encouragement to her friend.

"Ris, you need to cast a Patronus… I know you can…"

Ginny saw a faint white light flicker before disappearing. She quickly stopped running towards them, causing Blaise to glance over his shoulder.

"What are you–?"

Thinking of the happiest thought she could possibly muster at that moment, Ginny took a deep breath. "_Expecto Patronum_!" A white horse burst from the end of her wand and galloped towards the figures looming over the others, forcing them back and giving Blaise enough time to run over to Liete.

"Can you walk?" he inquired hastily, to which she feebly shook her head. "All right, I'll have to carry you then." As he helped her onto his back, another group of Death Eaters appeared at the end of the hallway. "Damn it!" he muttered, hooking his arms around Liete's legs as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Ginny! There's more of them!"

"I've got it," Oliver yelled in reply, aiming a few well-chosen curses and disabling a few of the Death Eaters, but it wasn't enough. The Dementors were also starting to break through the defenses put up by Ginny's Patronus, but a silver coyote joined the horse a moment later as Sarisa gathered her wits about her enough to cast the spell as well, allowing them the chance to escape. "Ginny! Let's go!"

She heeded Oliver's suggestion and darted after them, falling under a barrage of spells from the remaining Death Eaters. "There's a passage on the left — behind the tapestry! It'll take us to the Charms corridor!" she informed them just as she saw a curse fly by out of the corner of her eye. Casting a quick Shield, she pushed herself to go a little faster as one by one, they disappeared behind the tapestry.

As they ran down the stairs that were hidden behind it, she could here Blaise talking ahead of her, his sentence slightly fractured due to his heavy breathing. "You know… It wouldn't hurt to lose some weight, Katrae."

"Watch it, Zabini."

They continued down the flight of stairs until they reached the abandoned Charms corridor. Oliver, no doubt because of his Quidditch training, had gained a bit of a lead over the others and stopped outside one of the Charms classrooms. "Quick, get in here!" he beckoned. They did as he said and once they were all gathered in the room, he locked the door and pushed a few desks in front of it to form a barricade. Ginny doubled over, regaining her breath.

"We should be fine… for a few… minutes," she breathed as Sarisa flopped down into one of the seats tiredly. Blaise was setting Liete down on one of the desks when Oliver's comment drew his attention.

"Well I'll be damned…" he mumbled, gazing at Blaise. "There really is a Slytherin fighting with us."

Said Slytherin glanced over at him with a shrug. "It's in my best interests."

Ginny turned to Sarisa, who was rolling Liete's sleeve up so it was away from the deep gash that was causing blood to stream down her arm. "What happened to Terry?"

"I told him to go with Michael," she answered as she ripped a long strip of fabric from the bottom of her shirt. "Didn't want him doing anything stupid if I got in trouble."

Ginny smiled slightly. "Makes sense." Sarisa returned the gesture before tying the fabric around her friend's bleeding arm.

"That'll have to do for now."

"Thanks," Liete chimed, though her chipper tone seemed a bit forced. "But I think I dislocated my knee or something… I still can't walk."

"I could try a healing spell," Ginny offered, "but I've never really done one before."

"It'll be fine," Oliver said, coming over. "If we need to leave, I'll carry you." Turning to Ginny and Blaise, he added, "If you want, you two can go on. We'll be able to hold our own here for a while."

"All right." Ginny started to head for the door, where Blaise was waiting, but paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder. "Be careful."

"You too," Sarisa and Liete chorused as Oliver moved the tables far enough out of the way for them to get out.

"Don't worry about us," he stated with an encouraging smile. "We'll see you later."

"Yeah, once this is all over," Ginny agreed before they left the room, the door locking shut behind them once again. They made their way down the nearby staircase in silence, each of them keeping their guard up. The red-head broke the silence a few minutes later, asking, "Do you think Draco's all right?"

"Who knows," Blaise responded with a sigh, "but I'm assuming he is."

Ginny didn't press the matter. "What time is it?"

"11: 47," he answered after checking his watch. "Thirteen minutes left." Voldemort's ultimatum expired at midnight — after that, everything was sure to get much worse.

"Harry won't give himself up," Ginny told him, her eyes continuing to scan the halls for any sign of movement, though they took a short break to look at Blaise. "We need to be ready for a second wave of attacks."

"But this is absurd," Blaise said with a shake of his head. "If it comes to a full-out battle of force, there's no way we'll win at this rate."

As pessimistic as his statement was, Ginny couldn't help but smile at his use of 'we.' "Someone will think of something." Blaise thought it sounded as if she was trying to convince herself of that as well, but didn't comment. "Right now we just need to take out as many of them as we can."

They turned the corner cautiously, but the sight they were met with still caught them off guard. Motionless bodies were sprawled across the hall — many of them suits of armor, but there were still wizards dispersed amongst them. Blaise didn't say anything; the solemn expression on his face was enough to display of his reaction. Recognizing a few of the bodies as students, Ginny felt a wave of uneasiness come over her.

"Let's get out of here," she uttered, walking past the scene hurriedly as she kept her eyes focused directly ahead of her. Blaise followed, understanding why she'd want to get out of this place as quickly as possible. "They'll be coming in through the Entrance Hall. We should go there and–" Her sentence cut off as Blaise bumped into her, not noticing that she had stopped at the top of the stairs. Looking over her shoulder, he saw the unmistakable blonde head of his best friend half way down the stairs, unaware of their presence. After gazing at Draco for a moment, he continued past Ginny.

"I was wondering when I'd be seeing you again," Blaise remarked casually. The other Slytherin spun around, his breath catching in his throat when he saw Ginny standing just a little farther up the steps, looking just as surprised as he was. He hurriedly shifted his gaze to his friend, who was now standing directly in front of him. With a blank expression, Blaise said, "I'm assuming you screwed up your little plan?" There was no hint of mocking in his voice, just mild curiosity. Draco didn't answer, but his scowl told it all. Shrugging, the other boy simply added, "I told you."

The sound of Ginny descending the steps stopped either of the two boys from saying anything else as Draco turned his head to look at her once more. Then, in a tone of indifference, he said her name. "Ginny."

Her heart fell slightly — for some reason, she had expected him to be at least as happy as she was to see him. "Draco… What are you doing here?"

A spark of confusion flashed across his eyes — he had assumed Blaise would've told her — but when he realized his friend hadn't, he replied, "I'd rather not go out there and get myself killed by the Dark Lord."

"…Oh." She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she forced a small smile anyway. The expression made his stomach churn as a wave of guilt swept over him. "I guess that's the smart thing to do."  
Feeling a bit sympathetic for the obviously confused girl, Blaise also turned around to face her. "Come on, Gin. We should get down to the Great Hall." She glanced at Draco questioningly, but he refused to meet her eyes. Her brow furrowed slightly before she continued past him, albeit a little reluctantly.

"Yeah, you're right."

Draco watched as she stepped past him, unsure if he should stop her or just let her go, but once she reached the base of the stairs, he continued walking up them, having made his decision.

"I think he just has a lot on his mind," Blaise reasoned, hoping into would at least cheer her up a bit. She smiled at his kind attempt.

"Yeah." Suddenly, she paused. "…Do you hear footsteps?" she whispered.

Blaise also halted, listening closely for any sign of someone else's presence. Then he heard it: the sound of boots on the stone floor. "Quick, hide somewhe–" A flash of green light shot over his shoulder, causing them both to scramble for shelter. Ginny ducked behind the base of a large statue, while Blaise hid in a windowed alcove.

Another spell from the Death Eater collided with the statue, causing an arm to break off and fall a few feet away from Ginny. "Damn… This person really can't aim."

"That's not a bad thing!" she called back to Blaise, raising her arms over her head as more bits of rubble continued to rain down on her. Pointing her wand around the edge of the base, she cast, "_Stupefy_."

Blaise also aimed a hex at the Death Eater, but it seemed to bounce off of him. "He's got a shield! Use something stronger!"

"_Impedimenta_!" The force of the curse sent him flying backwards into the wall. "Did that work?"

"I can't tell, he's–" The rest of Blaise's sentence was drowned out by the icy voice of Voldemort as it echoed through the halls. Ginny unconsciously shivered at the sound.

"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery." She fearfully looked over at Blaise, who met her eyes with a worried expression. Neither of them liked where this was going. "Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity." A feeling of distress overcame Ginny as she heard this — just how many people had died? "Treat your injured. I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself.

"I shall wait one hour in the Forbidden Forest." The Slytherin boy glanced around the corner to see that the Death Eater had indeed disappeared before walking over to the girl on the opposite side of the hall. "If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then the battle recommences." Ginny tilted her head up as Blaise came up beside her.

"This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me." He offer her his hand with a downcast expression, which she took before he helped her to her feet — an air of dread surrounding them both.

"One hour."

* * *

A/N - Whew, this is a long chapter! I think it's one of the longest I've ever written, but it was kinda hard to find a good stopping point. I'm sorry to say there's only going to be two more chapters of this story: another chapter finishing the events in the book and then an epilogue. As much as I love writing this, there isn't much more of a story for me to tell...

Now for side-stuff. This is most likely the last time you'll see Sarisa and Liete in this story, whether you take that as a good or a bad thing. Also, Voldemort's speech at the end is taken directly from the book, so I really can't take credit for it : )

As always, I _love _reading your reviews : ) Each one gives me even more motivation to keep on writing. So, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter (I know I enjoyed writing it) and I'll see you next chapter!

-Twilight-Songstress


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter 20_

She was crying. No… That was an understatement. She was falling apart right before his eyes. Losing so many loved ones in the span of an hour would do that to anyone — he knew that — but it still hurt to see the strong, caring girl before him reduced to such a state.

And all Blaise could do was hold her.

Sobs wracked her body as his arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her to his chest. Tears simply continued to stream down her face, each glimpse of the red-headed twin lying on the ground coaxing new ones from her large brown eyes. Ginny's only other source of comfort was the ghost of a smile that was still on the boy's lips — at least the cruel reality of death hadn't taken that from him.

"Ginny…" Blaise murmured as he rubbed her back soothingly. He could see another red-headed Weasley coming towards them, this one holding the hand of a beautiful blonde woman. "Are you going to be all right?"

She gave a barely noticeable nod, but Blaise didn't believe her — not when her shoulders were still shaking with each gasping breath she took.

"The rest of your family is coming… I'm gonna leave you with them for a bit, okay?" When she only clutched the back of his shirt tighter, he added, "I'll come right back though." He didn't want to leave her at all, but he didn't think this was the best time for her family to learn she had befriended a Slytherin.

She sniffed, backing away from him. "Al-alright." Blaise gazed at her sympathetically, the grief-stricken look on her face causing his heart to clench uncomfortably.

"Gin... I'm so sorry."  
The girl forced a smile onto her face — one that didn't reach her blotchy, red eyes. "Nothing c-could've been done to ch-change it." Blaise just gave her another quick hug before releasing her and making his way to the doors of the Great Hall. As he reached them, another Weasley appeared, pushing past him to rush to the lifeless body of his brother. Blaise hurried out of the room — he didn't want to hear the boy's reaction to the loss of his twin.

The Entrance Hall hadn't faired much better during the attack. Rubble had made the ground nearly impossible to see in some places and one of the large oak doors had been knocked off of its hinges. McGonagall was scurrying around, trying to restore a sense of order in such a hectic situation. Suddenly she caught sight of Blaise, and to his great surprise, a weary smile appeared on her face.

"Ah, Mr. Zabini." He stopped, a bit confused as to why she was addressing him. "I must say that I'm quite proud of what you're doing." Oh, so that was it. He put on his usual nonchalant countenance.

"Thank you, professor. I figured someone should stick around so my House isn't a complete joke."

She chuckled softly. "You're quite right." And with that, she continued on her way. Ignoring the oddity of the exchange, he ascended the stairs, careful to avoid slipping on pieces of the broken banister. He didn't think Draco would've wandered too far away from where he and Ginny had seen him not even half an hour before, but he didn't expect to find him sitting in the exact same spot, looking a little lost amongst the people bustling around. No one took any notice of him — at least, not until his fellow Slytherin pulled him from his thoughts.

"So, this is where you've been."

Draco glanced up from the floor briefly, his eyes holding a hint of annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

Blaise sighed, sitting down beside him. "Well, even if you act like a total _git_, you're still my friend."

The blonde seemed a bit surprised before turned his head away, muttering defensively, "It would've worked if Crabbe and Goyle had just–"

"Are you _still _trying to make that sound like a good idea?" He rolled his eyes. "I knew you were conceited, but this is just ridiculous." His tone was one of admonishment, but nonetheless, he looked amused. Draco scowled, meeting his eyes.

"Fine, then what are you suggesting I should do?"

Blaise contemplated the question for a moment. "Well, first you need to drop your whole 'holier-than-thou' attitude and admit you were _wrong_." He paused. "Then you need to go find Ginny." When his friend didn't respond, Blaise added, in a mildly comforting manner, "I didn't tell her, you know."

"I figured," he mumbled. "Why?"

"She'll find out soon enough, though I'd rather you tell her than anyone else." Draco was silent once more. At this point, Blaise almost wanted Draco to blow up at him and be as stubborn as he always was. Any reaction would have been fine with him. "She kept asking about you… 'Have you seen him? Do you think he's okay?'" Still no reaction, not even the slightest twitch. "Honestly, I don't think you even deserve her concern right now, but it's not like I can tell her who to care about." He waited for a few seconds, and he was about to give up when Draco spoke.

"…She's all right though?" He was a bit taken-aback by the concern in his friend's voice, but at least it was an improvement.

"She's not hurt, if that's what you're saying," he answered quietly, "but she's lost people that she really cares about. I didn't really want to leave her, but she's with her family, and I needed to make sure you weren't doing anything else stupid." He could've sworn he saw the corners of Draco's lips lift ever so slightly. Grinning, he pushed himself off the stairs and turned around to face his friend. "But now that I've done that, I should get back down to the Great Hall." He sent him an 'Are you coming?' look, but Draco shifted his focus to the ground.

"I think it'd be better if I stayed here."

After a second thought, Blaise agreed. "I suppose you're right… This probably isn't the best time for her to deal with you." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "But I expect to see you down there at some point. I'm not coming to find you again," he informed Draco sternly before turned away and making his way down the stairs.

"Blaise…" Said boy stopped at the landing below, glancing over his shoulder to see Draco looking away as if he regretted calling his friend back. Blaise waited patiently till the blonde decided what he wanted to say. "…Can you tell her?"

"Why? Don't want to see her look so disappointed?" He hadn't meant the words to come out so harshly, as they caused a look of anger to pass over Draco's features.

"I'm being selfish, alright?" he gritted out, avoiding his friend's condescending gaze. "Can you just tell her?"

"…Fine, but this is the last time I'm helping you," Blaise muttered. At the sight Draco's frown, his expression relaxed slightly as he walked back up the stairs. "Draco, if you really care about her, you'd better start acting like it. You seem to have forgotten that Potter still fancies her." His friend's head snapped up in alarm — it seemed he really had forgotten about that rather important detail.

"But she likes me, so she has to be over him, right?" he blurted out, and Blaise had to fight back a laugh at the childishness of his question.

"How do you know she still likes you?"

"You just said she was worried about me!"

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I'm sure she's also worried about her family, her friends, _Potter_… Catch my drift?" The boy in front of him frowned. "I'm just saying, if you still fancy her, for God's sake, _act on it_." Without waiting for a response, he turned his back on Draco and went back to the Great Hall, hoping his friend would take his advice.

When he got there, Blaise simply stood off to the side, staying out of the way and trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible. Ginny was still surrounded by her family while Granger comforted her, so he decided to wait until she felt comfortable enough to leave their company.

"Blaise?"

A broad grin appeared on his face as he recognized the voice. Turning, he saw Mandy standing beside him, a shy smile playing on her lips. After greeting her with a quick kiss, he asked, "How are you doing?"

"A little worse for the wear," she replied, her words laden with sadness as she continued, "but I'm better off than most. I was mainly helping with the evacuation. You?"

"I'm all right. Had a few issues upstairs, but those were taken care of without too much trouble," he told her. "I may skive off for the second half of the battle though…" he mused, eliciting a tinkling laugh from her that brought a smile to his face. "Apparently I'm the only Slytherin over on this side."

"Well, I think it's wonderful that you're helping," she said brightly before gesturing to a cut on his arm. "Although, you seem to have gotten a bit careless."

"Oh… I didn't even notice."

She smiled. "That's alright. I can heal it for you." Pointing her wand at his arm, she murmured, "_Episkey_." Upon inspecting the wound, he found that the gash had disappeared, replaced with a faded scar.

"Thanks." Mandy beamed as she hopped up onto the table he was leaning against, swinging her legs back and forth idly.

"I've been practicing," she announced proudly. "Can't become a Healer if I don't know the right spells." He grinned.

"That _would_ be helpful. I'm sure you'll make a great Healer someday."

She nudged him playfully. "You're just saying that to be nice."

"No I'm not." It was true, he was sure with her brains she could become whatever she wanted to be. She seemed to accept this, though a bit skeptically, and slid off of the table.

"Well, I'm going to keep helping out, but I'll find you later, 'kay?"

He nodded, straightening his back and facing her. "Be careful; it's only gonna get worse." The cheerful expression on her face faltered as the seriousness of his statement hit her.

"I know." She gave him a peck on the cheek before wrapping her arms around his torso. "You be careful too," she mumbled before pulling away and disappearing with a small wave.

Once he lost sight of her amongst the crowd of people, he directed his eyes to where the Weasleys were gathered, but didn't see Ginny standing with them. With a bit of a frown, he scanned the hall and, after a minute, he found her kneeling beside a girl about their age, holding her hand as she tried to comfort her. He started towards her and at the same time, she turned around as if looking for someone. Her lips curved slightly when she noticed him, but she didn't let go of the girl's hand. As he neared, he could hear the words Ginny was saying as the girl sniffled.

"How about we go find someone to fix that arm of yours?" she suggested, to which the girl nodded tearfully. She helped her off the ground and walked her over to Madam Pomfrey before returning to Blaise. "Did you find him?"

"Find who?"

"Draco," she stated as if it were obvious, though her voice still had that detached quality from when they had run into him before — like she was trying to forget about his odd behavior and failing horribly. "I'm guessing you went looking for him."

"I did."

She let out a soft huff. "And?" He could tell his vague answers were starting to annoy her, but he didn't really want to elaborate. Never the less, she was going to find out at some point anyway.

"He's just moping," he informed her casually. "Hasn't quite gotten it through his head that Voldemort's on the loosing side." Her eyes widened as she picked up on the implication, though he was wishing she hadn't.

"You mean–"

He nodded. "He was planning on finding the diadem first. I'm sure you can assume the rest."

Ginny gaped at him, not sure what to say till she finally spat out, "That two-timing bastard! I thought he'd changed!"

Unable to stop the grin that came to his face, he shrugged. "I think he's regretting it now… Trying to find the diadem, I mean. Not changing."

"Oh, I can't believe him…" she hissed as she turned away. "_That_'s why he was acting so strange earlier! That stupid… Ugh, I can't believe him!" Part of her wanted to find him and deliver a resounding slap to his face, while the other part never wanted to see him again. And there was a little part of her that just wanted to cry.

"You know, you're taking this a bit better than I thought you would." He had expected her to carry out the first option — the fact that she was still standing before him supported his statement.

She ignored him. As furious as she was, he could tell she was upset by Draco's betrayal. There was no other reason for the poorly disguised disappointment in her voice. "Why the hell isn't he telling me this?"

"Because he's being a coward." Ginny let out a growl of frustration, her hand clenching at her side. "Hey, at least he's seen the error of his ways," Blaise remarked before his lips curved downwards. _I think…_

The fuming red-head shot a glare at him. "Don't defend him," she snapped, causing him to chuckle.

"Fine, I won't." When she didn't say anything, he continued. "Gin, don't let it upset you–"

"I'm not upset! I'm pissed off that he thinks he can get away with something like that after everything that's happened!"

"Fine, you're not upset," Blaise mumbled, raising his hands defensively. "I just think you should forget about it for now and focus on the upcoming battle. I don't want you getting hurt because you're distracted."

Ginny seemed to take his words to heart and the look of furry on her face softened. They still had a battle to win… She could always deal with _him_ later. " …How long do we have left?"

Blaise glanced down at his watch. "Fifteen minutes."

"Just fifteen minutes, huh?" she uttered. Before she could finish her thought, someone called her name.

"Ginny!" She turned and saw Ron jogging towards her, Hermione not far behind him. "Have you–" His words cut off abruptly as he noticed the other person in their presence. "What is _he _doing here?"

"Ron, please…" When he turned to her with his mouth open, she gazed at him sternly. "Not now."

"No, I wanna know what they hell you're doing with a _Slytherin_," he demanded, his ears turning an interesting shade of red. "Who d'ya think we've been fighting against?"

Ginny exhaled slowly as an angry retort died on her tongue. "_Ron_, he's–"

"Calm down, Weasley," Blaise interrupted. There was no reason he couldn't defend himself. "I've been fighting with you guys."

"Really?" Ron shot back scathingly, despite the hand that Hermione placed on his shoulder. "Well, that's funny, 'cause your _friend_ was all set to turn us over to Vol–"

"That was his decision," Blaise interjected tersely. "Not mine." Ron opened his mouth to resume his interrogation, but Ginny beat him to it.

"Ron, what were you going to ask me?" Her question was accompanied by a dangerous look — one that had a scary resemblance to their mother's — so he let the matter drop for the time being.

"You seen Harry? He disappeared after we found out abou–" He paused, glancing towards the spot where the rest of their family was standing. "After we got back," he finished lamely.

Ginny shook her head, a trace of concern apparent in her eyes. "I thought he would've gone to find you…" It was at this point Hermione spoke up, voicing the option that seemed to be on everyone's mind.

"You don't suppose he would've–"

"No, he has to be 'round here somewhere," Ron stated, looking around the room for any trace of the Boy-Who-Lived. Hermione let out a gentle sigh.

"Where could he've gone to…?"

"Maybe he's just getting away from it all for a while," Ginny piped up. "I'm sure he'll be back soo–"

A horrible, blood-curdling scream caused the words to catch in her throat. Ron immediately whirled around in the direction it had come from before turning to Hermione. A look of unadulterated terror was frozen on her face — it seemed she had recognized the owner of the voice as well. His gaze must have knocked her out of her trance, because a second later, they both practically flew to the door. Ginny was still in a state of shock — it wasn't until Blaise placed a hand on her shoulder that she jumped to her senses.

"That was McGonagall…" Before he could process what she'd said, Ginny ran after them, disappearing into the group of people that had assembled in a rush to get to the Entrance Hall.

"Ginny!" She couldn't hear him over the nervous chatter, so he had no choice but to push his way through the crowd in an attempt to catch up to her.

Over the sea of heads, she could just see the top of Ron's mop of ginger hair when Hermione let out a terrible cry. "_No!_"

"Harry!"

At the sound of her brother's shout, her heart skipped a beat and she let out a strangled noise of frustration. "Damn it! Let me through!" she shrieked, shoving the people in front of her a side.

A little ways behind, Blaise had finally caught sight of the youngest Weasley as she came to a stop, petrified with pure horror at the scene before her. As he came up beside her, the blood drained from her face — the freckled skin turning deathly white as she stood there in shock. The lifeless form of Harry Potter was just barely visible through the gaps in the crowd, held in the arms of a weeping Hagrid. Ginny finally gasped as she came out of her stupor before a devastated scream escaped her lips.

"HARRY!"

* * *

Draco had seen everything from a shattered window on the second floor: Longbottom's valiant stand against Voldemort, Hagrid's giant of a brother lumbering towards the assembly, the Boy-Who-Lived vanishing into thin air, and Voldemort's wrathful expression as his snake was beheaded. Now, the battle was raging once again, and he knew there was a decision that had to be made. It was going to be one side or the other — one would prevail, one would fall in infamy. And for once, he was certain there was no truth in what Blaise had said; it wasn't possible to play both sides… Not this time.

It was only when he saw his best friend grab the hand of a fiery red-head and rush back inside the building that his mind was made up. With one last hesitant pause, he turned on his heel and ran to the Great Hall. If he was going to die, it sure as hell wasn't going to be fighting against the things — the people — he truly cared about. Not when they'd done so much for him.

Spells were flying everywhere when he reached the entrance to the Great Hall, one missing him by a mere hairbreadth as he scanned the hall. It was hysterical laughter that eventually drew his attention to what he sought. Bellatrix was dueling three students at once: Granger and Lovegood both firing hexes at her as a green streak of light sailed towards the girl he had been looking for. Draco took a step forward, but before he could even raise his wand, Mrs. Weasley came charging over, her face flushed with furry.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"

Bellatrix immediately whirled around, a crazed expression adorning her features as she returned Mrs. Weasley's attacks. Ginny had already begun fending off another Death Eater — with yet another sneaking up behind her. Without thinking, Draco hexed the man, who collapsed just as Ginny stunned the Death Eater in front of her. Noticing the noise, she turned, her eyes locking with the grey ones that were focused on her from across the room before widening with surprise. He was only vaguely aware of the fact that she mouthed his name before yells of Harry's return caused them both face the center of the room. There he was, standing opposite Voldemort with a look of sheer determination in his eyes. This was it — it had to be — and yet, Draco's attention had inadvertently drifted back to the girl standing just a few feet away.

The moment seemed almost surreal as the two faced off, each engaging in terse, mocking conversation as they waited for the other to make the first move. Draco heard his name mentioned, but nothing more than mild astonishment registered in his mind. This was it… After this, it was all going to be over. It had to be.

There were two simultaneous shouts, followed by utter silence. The whole room seemed to be in a daze as a cloaked body fell to the ground. Another pause — silence. Then, as if a spell had been lifted, cheers erupted from every corner of the Great Hall and Draco watched as the girl just out of reach ran forward, straight into the hero's awaiting arms.

* * *

The overall ecstatic mood had hardly died down hours later as Blaise wandered through the Great Hall, a relaxed expression on his face even though he felt a bit out of place with the winning army. A few people had already come up to him, offering him cordial words of gratitude for his actions, but even then, the whole affair seemed awkward. It wasn't that he regretted his choice — not in the slightest — he just wished he had a few more people he could find solace with in the group made up mostly of strangers.

It was with this notion that he spotted Draco sitting with his family, all looking as uncomfortable as he felt in the particular situation. Narcissa was the first to notice as he walked over, the corners of her lips lifting almost unnoticeably.

"Hello, Blaise," she greeted, causing the other two members of her family to look up as well. Lucius simply gazed at him with an unreadable expression (though if he had to guess, it was one of annoyance at being disturbed) while Draco glanced at him for a brief moment before returning his gaze to the floor.

"Good morning," he replied brightly, ignoring the two currently unsocial members of the family and instead choosing to direct his attention only to the middle-aged woman. "Quite the celebration, isn't it?"

Narcissa nodded, giving him a tired smile. "I'm just grateful it's over," she told him sincerely, to which Blaise responded with the same expression.

"You and everyone else," he agreed before shifting his attention to Draco. "If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you." The boy glanced up once more before standing and following him wordlessly till they were out of ear-shot.

"Here to pester me again?"

Blaise leaned against the stone wall lazily, pretending he hadn't heard the irritated tone in his friend's voice. "No, actually." He grinned. "I figure if you haven't gotten it through your thick head by now, it's a lost cause."

Draco frowned, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "I came down like you told me to," he stated in a mildly defensive manner. The other boy chuckled.

"I'll admit I was a bit shocked about that. You usually don't listen to me."

"For a good reason…" he muttered coldly, folding his arms over his chest as he looked away.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Blaise waited for him to continued, knowing something was bothering him, but when Draco didn't say anything else, he took a guess at the problem. "So, are you going to talk to Ginny? Now that you've realized you were stupid and all."

"…You saw her run at _Potter_." Ah, so that was the issue. At least, that's the way it seemed when Draco practically spat Harry's name.

Sighing, Blaise shook his head with a small laugh. "Would you quit being so bloody jealous? She would hear you out at least." He paused. "Now, if she decides to forgive you… That's a whole other story."

Draco scowled before turning away, his gaze falling on the spot where the girl in question was resting her head wearily on her mother's shoulder. As if she felt his eyes on her, she looked up, though her expression didn't change. He turned back quickly, and as if he had just fully processed what Blaise had said, he hissed, "I'm not being jealous. It was pretty clear from her actions that she still fancies Potter.

"Then why is she coming over here?" he stated simply, causing Draco's eyes to widen. He rotated his head to the side just enough to confirm that she was indeed coming over to them when Blaise clapped him on the shoulder, a broad grin on his face. "Good luck, mate," he uttered under his breath before waltzing away. This seemed to jolt the blonde back to reality.

"Blaise, wait–"

"Draco." He mentally cursed at the sound of the clipped voice behind him and, deciding there was no way out of this, he slowly faced the speaker, meeting her eyes determinedly.

"Ginny."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she growled not even a second after her name had left his mouth.

Hoping to avoid the issue until their relationship had been restored to slightly better terms, he airily replied, "That's how you greet me?" Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed dangerously, almost daring him to continue with that tone of voice.

"Draco… Answer my question."

He hesitated, his usually quick-witted mind failing him as he groped around for an appropriate response. "I didn't know how you'd react," he stated after a moment, his voice not betraying the uncertainty he had about his answer. She gazed at him for a second with something akin to disbelief before her lips pursed.

"Then you shouldn't have done it in the first place!" Ginny snapped, her cheeks dusted a light pink as she let out a huff. "I trusted you to at least be _honest _with me. You know this isn't the Draco I fell for," she continued harshly.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could just see Blaise watching the scene with could only assume was meddling curiosity, but when he shot a pleading look at his best friend, the boy shifted so his back was to him. With a heavy, frustrated sigh, he faced the livid girl once more. "Gin, it was a lapse in judgment and I–"

"Are you going to keep having these 'lapses in judgment?'" she demanded sharply, catching him a bit off guard. "'Cause if you are, then I don't want to be a part of this anymore." When Draco did nothing but let his eyes fall to the floor, her expression softened as a hint of disappointment appeared in her features. "Fine… I guess this is it then." She willed herself to wait a few more seconds before turning away. She'd done what she could — all he had to do was put in a little more effort and just maybe…

"Ginny, wait." She felt herself being pulled to a stop as a hand gripped her wrist, and all she could do was stand there as he continued. "I'm… I'm sorry, all right? I swear it won't happen again."

She couldn't help the tiny grin that danced on her lips before she faced him with an emotionless façade. "Prove it."

He stared at her, taken aback by the words that had just escaped her mouth. "…What?"

Ginny pulled her wrist from his loose hold and crossed her arms. "Prove you won't turn your back on me again." He stood there, completely at a loss till his brow furrowed slightly as an idea came to mind. Taking a slow step forward, as if reconsidering the option, he closed his hand around one of her arms before suddenly pulling her closer, causing her to let out a small, startled sound as he planted his lips firmly over hers.

The chatter in the immediate area ceased almost instantaneously as Ginny relaxed from her initial surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck, completely forgetting — or perhaps ignoring — the people surrounding them. Off to the side, a certain devious Slytherin couldn't help but smirk at the scene before returning to his conversation with a pretty, bespectacled Ravenclaw who also happened to have a small smile on her face.

Draco wore a similar smirk as he pulled away moments later, his hands still resting on the hips of the petite red-head who was gazing up at him now that a sense of surprise had returned. "Does that work?"

Her lips curved slightly. "Yeah… I think it does." She could've sworn she saw a grin on his face as he stepped away, but he quickly hid it by turning. "Hey, where do you think you're going now?" He looked at her over his shoulder, trying to figure out if she was kidding or not.

"I'd have to be insane to stay here after doing that," he stated bluntly. "_Someone _in your rather large family must've seen, and I don't particularly feel like being beaten to a pulp at the moment." Ginny couldn't help but laugh as he continued on his way.

Months before, she had said that she couldn't wait till it was over, that everything would be so much simpler — that they wouldn't have to hide anything. But then, she had asked–

"Draco!" He paused once again, and a brilliant smile formed on her lips. "You still ashamed to be seen with a Weasley?"

He faced at her with a serious expression. "Yes."

Ginny's smile faltered. That wasn't quite right…

As if reading her thoughts, Draco smirked and, for that very moment, it seemed like everything was just the way it was always supposed to be.

"But not you, Gin."

* * *

A/N - Sorry it took me awhile to update, but hey, this chapter is over 5000 words long, so... I think that kind of makes up for it : )

Geez, I can't believe there's only one more chapter left! I know I've been working on this for about 6 months now, but it definitely hasn't seemed that long... I would love to just keep on writing this for a couple more months, but I wouldn't want to drag it out just for the sake of it. I'll write an occasional one-shot from time to time though, so don't think this is it for my D/G work : )

As always, the feedback I get from readers means a lot, so for this chapter and the next, I'll be posting a mini-questionare of sorts. If you took a few minutes to answer the questions, I would really appreciate it : )

1. What do you like best about this story? What do you like the least?

2. Who's your favorite character and why?

3. What's your favorite chapter and why?

4. How did I do with characterization?

5. I'm always working to become a better writer. Any suggestions?

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed reading the chapter and thanks in advance to those of you who answer the questions : ) Hopefully I'll be back really soon with the epilogue!

-Twilight-Songstress


	21. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

-Three Years Later-

A loud thud echoed through out the nearly empty room as Draco dropped a cardboard box on the table before turning to survey the small flat. A grimace appeared on his face. "I still don't see why you're making me move in with you…"

"Excuse me? _You _were the one who suggested we live together," Ginny pointed out as she placed another box atop a stack in the corner.

"Yeah, at _my_ place," he grumbled in response as she walked towards him, carrying a pile of plates she had fished out of one of the boxes. "Or I could've just bought us a _house_."

She shot him a look of annoyance over her shoulder as she put the dishes on the counter. "I've already told you. I'm not living somewhere that you frivolously bought with your endless supply of money," she stated tersely, standing on her tip-toes as she tried to push some of the plates onto the highest shelf. "I've worked hard to get my own place and I'm not gonna start relying on you now." Hearing footsteps behind her, she wasn't surprised when Draco reached up and took the plates from her before setting them on the shelf.

"It'd make life a lot easier," he remarked, slipping an arm around her waist. She could almost hear the smirk in his words. "Then you'd be able to spend more time with me."

With a scowl, she spun around in his arms. "Draco…" He let out a huff at her dangerous tone.

"I know, I know. You don't need my money."

"At least you're learning," Ginny replied, pulling away from him. He caught her hand before she could get too far away.

"But you know… Since you accepted this," he began with mock consideration as he played with the diamond ring on her finger, "you kind of agreed to use my money."

She fought back a smile as she wriggled her hand out of his grasp. "No… It simply means that, for some God-forsaken reason, I've agreed to spend the rest of my life with a prat like you," she explained before her lips finally did curve upward. "Money has nothing to do with it." Well, at least he knew she wasn't marrying him for his money… "Now come one. These boxes aren't gonna move themselves."

Draco sighed, following her over to the mounds of stuff that was piled in their living room. The flat actually wasn't as bad as he made it sound — though it was a bit on the small side. 'Cozy' was the word Ginny had used to describe it, but he'd still insisted he could get them a bigger place. After she'd adamantly refused that option, he'd grudgingly consented to buying the 'cozy' flat, splitting the cost evenly with her.

"Couldn't we get someone else to do this?" he complained as she picked up a box that had to be moved to the back bedroom. "Hell, we could even be using _magic_."

She laughed, a teasing expression in her eyes. "Why? Are the boxes too heavy for you, Malfoy?" He frowned at the jab before snatching the box from her hands.

"_No_. I just think we're wasting our time."

Ginny lifted another box that also needed to go to the back. "It doesn't hurt to do stuff without magic every once in a while. We don't have to use magic all the ti–" A deafening crack suddenly sounded beside her, causing her to stumble backwards in surprise. Losing her footing, she started to topple over, but a strong hand caught her arm until she steadied herself. Looking up, she found herself gazing at Draco's smirking face, the box he was carrying placed under his other arm.

"The boxes too heavy for you, Weasley?" She pursed her lips and pulled away from him before turning to scold the newcomer.

"Blaise! What have I told you about Apparating in here without warning?" The young man faced her with an apologetic grin as Draco disappeared into hall to put away his box.

"Sorry, Gin." He gestured to the flat's entrance, where the door was still ajar from when they'd been carrying in their belongings. "But hey, your door's open anyway."

Ginny exhaled in an exasperated matter, temporarily putting down the box to close and lock the door before picking it up again. "Yes, but what if someone'd seen you?"

"That would've been an issue," his grin widened, "but since no one saw me, it's not a problem."

"There's still the issue of privacy…" she mumbled as she walked into the hall, passing Draco as he made his way back to the living room with a mildly condescending look directed at his best friend.

"Aren't you supposed to be working now?"

"Technically, so are you," he pointed out with a shrug before holding up a set of papers with sketches of brooms and rows of writing on them. "Besides, I'm here about work anyway. Let's just say the Spitfires are living up to their name…"

Draco's shoulders slumped. "You've got to be kidding me," he groaned, running a hand through his hair before narrowing his eyes slightly. "Wait, I thought you'd fixed those."

"I thought I did too," Blaise admitted as he handed the papers to him, "and our deadlines in a week. If we've got any hope of selling them to the Harpies, they need to be done by then."

Draco took a moment to glance over the notes they'd made before turning towards the hallway. "Hey, Gin?"

"Yeah?" her voice responded from the back bedroom.

"Can you talk to your captain about extending our deadline for these brooms?" At this, she came back into the main room, her brow furrowed.

"Why? The Spitfires causing trouble again?"

Blaise nodded with a small frown. "I don't know what's wrong with 'em… All of a sudden they go completely berserk and the rider gets thrown off."

Ginny contemplated the issue as she took a few steps over to the adjacent kitchen and plopped down on the counter. After a moment, she spoke up. "You know, I could test it–"

"No," Draco and Blaise replied in unison, neither of them even glancing at her. She folded her arms over her chest as she rested her head on the cabinet door.

"I'm not a _professional_ Chaser for nothing," she shot back hotly. "I think I can handle it."

"Ginny, they're causing too many problems at the moment," Draco told her dismissively before turning to Blaise. "If worse comes to worse, I'll fly it tomorrow and see if I can figure out the problem."

Her tone was rich with resentment as she retorted. "Oh, so you can fly it but I can't?"

A moment of silenced passed before Draco nonchalantly stated, "If we can't fix it, then you can give it a shot," causing her to smile contently as he returned the papers to his friend and business partner. "I think I saw something in a book that might help," he murmured, turning to the assortment of boxes and gazing at them for a moment before a small frown appeared on his lips.

Blaise snorted. "Good luck finding it in all these boxes."

"I know where it is," Draco bit back resolutely. "Just give me a minute…" He exited the room, no doubt going to dig through the boxes that were stashed in the bedroom.

"He won't be back for at least ten minutes," Ginny commented off-handedly before pausing in a contemplative manner. "Maybe twenty." Blaise chuckled, walking in to the kitchen so he was standing opposite her.

"I'm still in shock that he agreed to move in here in the first place," he said as he leaned against the kitchen table she'd moved in there that morning. "Actually, I'm still can't believe he finally proposed."

"How long as he had the ring?" she wondered, swinging her legs back and forth slightly as she studied the dirty patches on the tile floor, making a mental note to clean them later on.

"Umm… About a year, I think."

"Really?" she murmured conversationally. Then his answer sunk in and her head snapped up with astonishment. "Wait… A _year_?" Ginny exclaimed, not sure she'd heard his answer correctly.

"Yep."

"And it took him this long?" she clarified with disbelief. Blaise nodded, her expression causing a grin to form on his face.

"Sad, isn't it? Although, I can't blame him for not wanting to deal with–" The rest of his sentence was cut off by a raucous banging.

"Ginny!"

Recognizing the voice, Blaise finished his earlier train of thought with a laugh. "–your family."

"Would it kill him to knock quietly?" the young woman sighed as she hopped off the counter to answer the incessant pounding, but Blaise was already heading for the door.

"Ginny!" Ron's voice shouted, muffled slightly. "Hurry up!" There was a pause, and for a moment she thought he'd stopped, but the rapping continued more urgently a second later. "You'd better not be snogging that bastard!"

It was after that delightful comment that Blaise undid the lock and swung the door open, casually greeting red-head with, "You know, the neighbors are gonna complain if you keep this up, Weasley." The youngest of Ginny's brothers ignored him and stormed into the flat.

"Ginny, what the hell do you–" He stopped, turning to Blaise with a mixture of surprise and confusion before his expression finally settled into one of suspicion. "What are you doin' here?"

"He's visiting," Ginny responded as she walked between them to close the door. "Now, what brings you h–"

"Why are you marrying him? Of all people, you just had to choose that slimy little git!" She was a bit taken-aback by his outburst, but was able to quickly hide her shock with a look of feigned ignorance.

"What are you talking about?" she inquired innocently, causing Blaise to let out a chuckle before trying to cover it with a cough.

"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" Ron continued to bellow, his face flushed with anger as his hands clenched at his sides. "You're wearing a bloody engagement ring!"

Ginny glanced down at the ring on her finger. "Oh… That," she mumbled awkwardly before her countenance changed to one of vexation. "Well, that's none of your business, Ron! …Wait, how did you find out anyway?"

"That doesn't matter," he growled. "I wanna know why you're marrying him!"

Ginny sighed, resisting the urge to just kick him out of the flat. "I _love him_, remember?"

"But you've only been dating for–"

"For four years!" she interrupted with an amazed laugh at his stubbornness. "I think that's long enough!"

"Hey, both of you need to quiet down," Blaise pointed out in a feeble attempt to defer any further argument between the siblings. "Yelling at each other like two idiots isn't going to solve anything." Ginny whirled on him, her brown eyes narrowed.

"Don't tell me what to do," she snapped. The young man rolled his eyes, figuring there was nothing to do but let them fight it out. Unfortunately, his interjection dragged him into their row as well.

"Did _you_ know about this?" Ron demanded accusingly.

Deciding it would be better to be honest, regardless of how furious it would make the red-head (or perhaps because of it), Blaise answered, "Of course."

Ron turned back to Ginny with a gob-smacked expression. "How come you told _him_ before you told us?"

"You seriously can't figure that out?" she replied, quirking an eyebrow. "Besides, I didn't tell him, Draco must've 'cause he popped in two minutes after it happened and said, 'So, did ya chicken out?'"

"It wasn't my fault I practically had to push him out the door to go ask you," Blaise noted carelessly. Ginny brushed off the comment and instead faced her brother once again.

"I wasn't planning on telling anyone until he'd moved it," she explained apologetically. "I was gonna tell you this weeken–"

"What do you mean he's moving in?"

Ginny let out a huff of frustration before thwacking him over the head. As he rubbed the spot with a frown, she said, "Ron, just shut up for a minute. Now, how the hell did you find out?"

His jaw clenched, but he crossed his arms and answered in a relatively calm manner. "Some people noticed you were wearin' that ring. George overheard them talking 'bout it down at the shop."

Ginny groaned. "So I'm assuming _everyone_ knows now, right?"

Ron nodded, having seemed to calm down a bit. "Mum wants you and Malfoy over for dinner tonight." He paused before grudgingly adding, "She also said Zabini's welcome to come if he wants."

Almost immediately, a broad grin broke out on Blaise's face as he turned to Ginny. "I keep telling you, your mum loves me." She pushed him playfully as he laughed at her antics before she shifted her attention to the situation at hand.

"Well, I guess it'd come down to this anyway…" She sent Blaise a questioning glance. "Can you come tonight? I could use the back-up."

"Yeah, but I'll probably come late. I don't know how long it'll take me to get the kinks worked out on that stupid broom."

"Brilliant… Another Slytherin to deal with," Ron grumbled.

"Hey, I've been trying to drop this whole petty animosity between our Houses for years," Blaise said with a shrug. "Clearly I'm not the one who has the problem." Ron scowled, but the return of a certain blonde prevented him from saying anything.

"Okay, this should help you fix it." He glanced up from flipping through the book as he spoke only to see Ron standing in his living room. Coldly, he asked, "What do you want, Weasley?"

Ron glared at him, tilting his head slightly in response. "Malfoy."

Ginny simply scoffed — she seriously doubted Draco hadn't noticed that her rather loud and obnoxious brother had stopped in for a visit. "Do the two of you _have _to act like children?"

"_I'm _not the one who's acting like a child," Draco retorted airily, shooting a pointed look at the other Weasley.

Blaise was quick to contradict his statement. "Oh please, you're both acting the same way you did ten years ago." When his friend snapped the book shut angrily, he chuckled. "Fine, I get it. I'm not helping, so I'll just be on my way." He reached over and took the book from Draco before facing Ginny. "See you around six?"

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "Yeah."

"All right." Glancing between the two boys, he smirked, quipping, "Trying not to kill each other, will ya?" before Disapparating.

"What was he talking about?" Draco prompted of his fiancée a second later, but Ron beat her to it.

"Mum's lost her mind and insists that you come over for dinner."

Draco stared at him for a moment as if _he'd _lost his mind before matter-of-factly announcing, "I'm not going."

Ron grinned mockingly. "Running away again, Malfoy? I guess you're still a bloody coward…"

Draco scowled, but before he could spit back a biting response, Ginny grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, murmuring, "Just give me a second to talk to him." Releasing his arm, she went over to her brother and unceremoniously dragged him into the kitchen, Ron protesting along the way. Once they were kind of out of ear-shot, she spun around to face him with a stern expression and, in a hushed tone, wondered, "Do you _have _to be like that?"

"Ginny, he's a Slytherin!" Ron argued, not even trying to be quiet. "They both are!"

"I know that!" she countered before returning to her earlier volume. "But Blaise has been making an honest effort to get along with you since you got out of Hogwarts, and I'm sure Draco would look past it if you would."

It was quite apparent that Ron was still annoyed, but a more serious look came over his features as he wondered, "Why him? Why are you marrying someone like him when you could've chosen Harry instead?

The question caught her off guard, and she simply stared at him for a moment before realization struck her and she glanced over at Draco. From the vacant expression on his face and the way he was slumped back on the couch, she could tell he'd heard. Returning her gaze to her brother, she uttered emotionlessly, "You should be happy for me regardless of who I marry. I've obviously made my decision, and I wish you'd respect that."

Ron frowned — she had to be really upset if she didn't respond in her usual hot-headed way. "Gin, I didn't mean it like that–"

"I'm not a kid any more, Ron," she muttered icily. "You don't have to lie to me — I know you don't like him, and honestly, I don't think he's all that fond of you. But for God's sake, can you _try_ to be civil towards him."

Even though he seemed slightly sickened by the idea, he nodded. "Fine…" he agreed before shooting a glare over her shoulder at the blonde. "But most of the family's gonna be there tonight, so he'd better not try anything."

She smiled weakly — that piece of news only meant she'd have to deal with them all at once as well. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him. Now, go tell mum we'll be able to make it tonight, okay? And Blaise too."

Ron hesitated briefly. "…Alright." Then, to her mild surprise, he pulled her into a quick hug, mumbling, "I'll see ya tonight," before Disapparating. When he did, she saw Draco look over out of the corner of her eyes.

"You heard him, didn't you?" she sighed, traipsing towards him.

"And if I did?" he replied crisply. His grey eyes followed her as she flopped down on the sofa, her lips curving into a slight smile as she leaned over to kiss him warmly.  
A moment later, she pulled away with an amused shake of her head. "I still can't believe after all these years you still let Harry bother you…"

"Let's face it — you and I both know your family would be a lot happier if you were engaged to him." She wasn't going to lie… It seemed like everyone in her family _had_ hoped that Harry would be the one to sweep her off her feet.

"Maybe…" she mused, pulling one of her legs up on the couch so she could face him better. "But I'm quite happy with the way things are now, and since _I'm _the one who decides who I marry, that's all that really matters," Ginny continued as she leaned in once again with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes as she stole another quick kiss. "That still leaves the issue of tonight though…"

"I had a feeling that's what you were getting at," he remarked with a smirk, surprising her by abruptly standing up before turning around so he was staring into her expressive copper eyes. "And I'm not going."

Ginny let out an irritated growl, also rising from the couch. "_Four years_, Draco! Four years and you've _never _been to the Burrow."

"That's not true," he drawled as he made his way to the kitchen before busying himself with getting a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she retorted sarcastically. "You stopped by _once _to meet my parents after I got out of Hogwarts, but I've been to your house loads of times." Oddly enough, Narcissa had accepted her with open arms, even if Lucius hadn't. Eventually though, she'd formed what could at least be called a cordial relationship with the man. Exhaling softly, she said, "Draco, this means a lot to me, and you should've known you'd have to get along with my family when you proposed."

Draco frowned as he considered the situation. "…It's only going to be your parents, right?" To his confusion, she responded with an awkward laugh.

"Umm… Not exactly." That wasn't the answer he was hoping for.

"Who else?" If it was her oldest brother — Bill, if he remembered correctly — and his wife, he figured he may be able to survive. However, judging from Ginny's apologetic smile, he knew that wasn't going to be the case.

"Everyone?"

Draco had to resist the urge to jump out the window on the spot. Instead, he settled for letting out a groan. "Are you out of your mind? I can't deal with all of them at once."

"Oh, come on. It won't _really_ be everyone. I think Charlie's still in Romania and Percy's probably working late, so it won't be that bad," she insisted brightly. He almost believed her, until something else came to mind.

"Wait…" His eyes narrowed. "Does this include Potter and Granger?"

Realizing she had forgotten to ask, Ginny decided she may as well prepare him for the worst. "Uh, I would assume so." The look that passed over his face was hard to describe, but if she had to, she would say it looked like he'd just seen Dumbledore prancing through a field of flowers. "But Blaise'll be there, so at least he can help you cope with the trauma," she added hastily, as if they were the magic words that would make the situation ten times better. Sure, having Blaise would make it a little more bearable, but still…

After a moment, a heavy sigh escaped his mouth. "The things I do for you…"

"So you'll go?" she piped, practically beaming.

For a second, she thought he was going to take it back, but he mumbled, "…Yeah."

A delighted expression was plastered on her face as she pecked him on the lips in gratitude. Then she turned back to the living room, a look of determination flitting across her face. "Now, let's finish sorting out these boxes…"

Draco smiled slightly as he watched her move away. It'd seemed like ages since she'd walked — or rather, been shoved — into his life… It was because of her that everything had changed. It all seemed so perfect when she was around… And yet, he had the feeling that, no matter what life would throw at them, things would only get better in the years to come.

* * *

A/N - Wow... It's kind of hard to believe that it's over, isn't it? Hopefully you guys thought the ending was worth sticking out six months for : ) I may come back later and write a little one-shot about the dinner at the Weasleys, but that won't be any time soon...

Thanks to all of you who answered my survey last chapter! For those of you who haven't, please take a few minutes to answer the following questions. It would mean a lot : )

1. What do you like best about this story? What do you like the least?

2. Who's your favorite character and why?

3. What's your favorite chapter and why?

4. How did I do with characterization?

5. I'm always working to become a better writer. Any suggestions?

Finally, I'd just like to take a second to say thank you so much to all of you for reading this fanfic, and I'd like to give an extra special thank you to those of you who reviewed. I really loved writing this and I'm sad to see it end, but this definitely won't be the last thing I write on this site. So, keep an eye out for me ^ ^ As always, I hope you all enjoyed the story and, once again, thank you for all of your support : )

Lots of love,  
-Twilight-Songstress

***Revision note, 2011*** - For the most part, I just changed some small things, like fixing any spelling errors/typos I noticed and changing a few sentences that I didn't really like. However, there are two things that I changed in response to the reviews...

First of all, I never really addressed the possibility of a relationship between Blaise and Ginny. I mean, obviously I acknowledged that there_ could _have been a relationship between them, but I didn't explain why there wasn't. In response to that, I added on to the scene right before Draco and Ginny _actually_ get together in Chapter 10 with the hope that it would make Blaise's feelings a little clearer. I had thought about having him not have feelings for Ginny at all, but that really wasn't what I had intended as I wrote it. So instead I opted for just having Blaise be extremely honest with himself and acknowledge that, despite his feelings, being in a relationship is kind of a two way thing and Ginny didn't feel the same way. And so he moved on. Hopefully that cleared up a lot of things and you were able to get that out of the scene as opposed to my clumsy explanation here ^ ^'

The second thing I changed was really small... I got a lot of comments about Draco's moodiness in regard to his relationship with Ginny when she doesn't come back after break. Honestly, I was really trying to stick with the plot shown in the books and justify why Draco decided to look for the diadem for Voldemort. It really is a feeble justification on my part, but I tried to make it a little better by adding on to the second to last scene in Chapter 18.

Hopefully the revisions made the story a bit better, but if you guys still have suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Again, thank you so much for sticking with this!


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